It is time for Indonesian women to take action and #Callitout when it comes to SMS/phone call-based harassment
Heaptalk, Jakarta – Truecaller, a smartphone application with caller-identification features, seeks to assist the community by fostering safe and efficient communication, particularly among women. Because of the rapid shift toward digital-first initiatives, it is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine living in the twenty-first century without the “digital space.” However, with increased digitization comes an increase in online abuse against women, which also tends to rise.
Using Truecaller has helped women across the world in blocking unwanted communication in their regular lives. Truecaller stands firmly against women’s harassment and strives to make communication safer and more efficient for everyone. Its #ItsNotOk campaign for women, which began five years ago after extensive research in five countries, continues to raise awareness about online harassment.
Keeping in tandem with the global needs of cyber safety and acknowledging the importance of cyber hygiene, Truecaller is taking a step forward, this year by initiating a new leg to the existing campaign encouraging women to raise their voices and fight back against phone and SMS harassment with #ItsNotOk-CallitOut. The campaign aims to challenge the current scenario of normalizing harassment and stands in support of women in their hour of need.
Alan Mamedi, CEO and Co-Founder of Truecaller, said, “Truecaller strongly opposes all forms of harassment against women, including online abuse. A majority of the unwanted calls and messages that make up sexual harassment or scams come from unknown numbers. For this reason, we at Truecaller constantly strive to make communication channels more secure and efficient.”
“Our application helps identify who is trying to contact you and, with the help of the community, also helps find out what their intentions are. It is our commitment to protect all Truecaller users from fraud, scams, and harassment. Thes #ItsNotOk campaign aims to raise awareness about women’s harassment on mobile phones and protect women from unwanted communication or harassment. We strongly urge women who encounter such situations through their cellphones to step up, block, and report their harassers in order to protect the wider community,” continue Alan.
#ItsNotOk-CallitOut campaign aims to safeguard women from any kind of phone harassment and encourage them to speak up. Over the years, we have witnessed a remarkably high number of women facing harassment in one form or another every day, with women getting inappropriate texts and calls as harassment. Today, women make up nearly 50% of the population, and it is critical to bring about this change and make a shift towards calling out and talking about harassment and taking action on this issue. With the same in mind, we have taken our campaign further to #ItsNotOk-CallItOut to encourage women to speak out and take relevant actions against it.
According to the latest data reported by the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan), gender-based violence cases against women reportedly increased by 50% in 2021 compared to the previous year.
Women and personal safety are important subjects for Truecaller, and the brand will continue to drive these initiatives with the aim of bringing about a positive change and being the first line of defense to fight online harassment.
