SUBANG JAYA, April 19 ― Malaysian NGOs Tenaganita and Change Your World today launched South-east Asia’s first mobile application designed to let the public report human trafficking activities.
The Be My Protector app, which took two years to develop, was launched in Puchong today, and will be available in eight different languages catering to the region.
The app allows either a victim or any individual who has identified a potential trafficking victim to attach pictures, describe the nature of the situation, and also mark the severity.
Individuals can opt to make the reports anonymously, said Change Your World co-founder Kelvin Lim.
The complaints will then be investigated by Tenaganita, which has been dealing with human trafficking for the past three decades, which will also forward complaints to the police and relevant authorities as and when necessary.
The app was conceived following a campaign that Change Your World, a youth empowerment group, and Tenaganita conducted with the Selangor state government in 2015 to raise awareness about human trafficking in the state.
“We did a campaign with over 200 volunteers that reached over 500,000 people through social media and engaged with over 30,000 people in over 11 locations,” Lim said.
Former Selangor speaker Hannah Yeoh and incumbent Kinrara assemblyman Ng Sze Han both attended the app launch today.
The campaign could not be expanded to other areas due to a lack of funds, Tenaganita co-founder Aegile Fednandez said.
“That’s when the idea for the app came about,” she said, saying that Tenaganita is determined to make sure that the application was a success.
Kelvin is targeting 100,000 downloads for the application by the end of 2018, and 1 million downloads by 2023.
The app can be downloaded on both Google Play and Apple Store, via bmpmy.org.
