MediCapt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Design, Development, and Deployment of Mobile Technology to Document Forensic Evidence of Sexual Violence

Authors

Karen Naimer, Physicians for Human RightsFollow
Widney Brown, Physicians for Human RightsFollow
Ranit Mishori, Georgetown University School of MedicineFollow

Abstract

This review essay provides an overview of the MediCapt app and the steps Physicians for Human Rights has taken to design, develop, and field-test the app in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also explores advocacy opportunities that the app’s emerging technology may facilitate down the road. This review essay also identifies the many challenges and questions that we have grappled with and lessons learned as we seek to deploy MediCapt in a low-resourced and politically unstable context and take it to scale beyond DRC. Finally, in sharing the details of this case study, we hope to emphasize both the promise of new mobile technology for human rights organizations as well as the significant legal and ethical responsibilities that accompany it.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank our partners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have provided us with essential guidance and feedback on the app. We would also like to thank the MediCapt development team, including Kevin Chugh, Alex Schultz, Dlshad Othman, Michael Anastario, Georges Kuzma, Thomas McHale, Harmonie Kobanghe, and Susannah Sirkin for their indispensable contributions to the design, development, and implementation of this initiative. We would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions. We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of our donors: the U.S. Department of State (the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs as well as the Office of Global Women's Issues), the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, The Sigrid Rausing Trust, and Fondation Pro Victimis.

DOI

http://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.11.1.1455

Recommended Citation

Naimer, Karen; Brown, Widney; and Mishori, Ranit (2017) "MediCapt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Design, Development, and Deployment of Mobile Technology to Document Forensic Evidence of Sexual Violence," Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 11: Iss. 1: 25-35.
DOI:

http://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.11.1.1455

Creative Commons License

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