Created from the project 'Resistência Arco-Íris', of Brazilian National School for Public Health (Ensp/Fiocruz), in partnership with the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (Antra) and the Brazilian Association of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites, Transsexuals and Intersexes (ABGLT), the Dandarah app has a digital ecosystem to facilitate the LGBTI population (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transvestites, transsexual women, trans men and intersex) to get informed, report, register, face and avoid all types of violence they are subjected to. The launch will happen on December 18th, starting at 1 pm, at the Miguel Murat de Vasconcellos Study Center (Rua Leopoldo Bulhões 1.480, fourth floor) and will present thematic stands about LGBTIphobic violence, presentation of the project's methodology and outcoming results and cultural presentations.
The researcher responsible for the Project "Resistência arco-íris', Mônica Malta, had as basis to develop the app a research that commenced two years ago at Ensp and also the information obtained through groups mobilized in several Brazilian cities, bringing together leaders, education professionals, parliamentary advisers and LGBTI activists. After talk about subjects such as the panorama and violence effects, stigma and discrimination against the LGBTI community in Brazil - in addition to suggestions on features they would like to include in the application - it was possible to establish a collaborative process, so that the app is a widely used tool by LGBTI population.
“We want the Dandarah app to be a source of information for LGBTI community. We will geolocate safe places for these people and the registration of these environments will be done by the users themselves ”, explains Angélica Baptista, a specialist in digital health and also one of the researchers of 'Resistência Arco-Íris' project.
Due to the high levels of violence against LGBTI people, Dandarah has a panic button that, when triggered, immediately sends to five people registered by the user, a message warning that he/she is under risk. The application will also be a channel of information about police stations, closest support services and safe places for LGBTI - all contributed by the users, who will be able to mark these places on the map.
Brazil takes the first place in the ranking of countries that murder transgender people in the world and is one of the most violent countries for LGBTI people in general. It is still difficulty to file a report and get the effective participation of the population in actions designed to face the LGBTIphobic violence.
"In addition to being an extremely important tool for our population, this project counts with the participation of researchers from social movements, who tested the application in seven Brazilian cities (Aracaju, Uberlândia, Brasília, Belém, Niterói, Salvador, Francisco Morato and Rio de Janeiro) in order to improve its functionality, reaching about 130 LGBTI people, from different economic levels, race and gender, who were able to collaborate with the project, confirming this research importance and the partnership between the academy and the social movements ", states the secretary and researcher of Antra's Political Articulation, Bruna Benevides.
Dandarah was named to remember the transvestite Dandara Ketlyn, that was brutally murdered in 2017, in Ceará. The application is available, in Beta version, on the Play Store. Soon it will also be available on the App Store.
