Calls for Change: How Interactive Voice Response Technology Aims to Eliminate Harmful Traditional Practices in Ethiopia
By: Reagan Steirn
Advocacy efforts in the prevention of child marriage and female genital mutilation (“FGM”) in Ethiopia have increased with the testing and implementation of Interactive Voice Response (“IVR”) technology.[1] With 40% percent of girls married before the age of eighteen and 65% percent of women and girls aged 15-49 having undergone FGM[2], IVR technology aims to strengthen young girls’ knowledge and skill sets in the opposition of these harmful traditional practices.[3] IVR allows for the delivery of information, such as the life skills training programme, to reach girls without the need for a live agent by utilizing either pre-recorded messages or text-to-speech technology with a dual-tone multi-frequency (“DTMF”) interface.[4] While interactive in nature, IVR technology requires minimum literacy.[5] The goal of IVR is to equip adolescents with the tools needed to oppose child marriage and FGM, understand the generational impacts of these harmful traditional practices, become informed about support services for targeted individuals, and encourage increased reporting of such incidents.[6]