As mentioned above, the Philippines is culturally sensitive when it comes to taboo issues such as sexual harassment. People here would rather stay silent than talk about it, for fear of judgment and shame.

Thus we believe the campaign is highly significant as it provides people with a way to report their experiences with sexual harassment, comfortably and confidentially.

The idea stemmed from one question:

In a conservative country like the Philippines, how do we actually get people to get over their fear of shame and report sexual harassment?

And then it hit us: People judge. People talk. But AI won’t.

Thus, Gabbie was born.

It works because she is housed on a platform that people already use on a daily basis (Messenger), thus making it easy for them to report wherever and whenever, and the fact that she’s an AI means that they don’t have to worry about judgment from her.

Gabbie was implemented on Facebook Messenger on November 25th, 2017, also known as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Upon launch, she was picked up by various local and global news sites, she was featured on the country’s premier news channel, she was brought to schools, and she was even invited to congress to the support and appreciation of the country’s legislators.

Upon launch, Gabbie has received:

9.5 million impressions

Almost P5 million in free media values

And a 1060% increase in reports, from 11 to 127 in the last two months of Q4, 2017.

But the biggest result is that Gabbie was able to break the silence regarding sexual harassment as well as set a new precedent when it comes to the reporting it.

As mentioned above, the strategy was simply to get people – all people who have fallen victim to sexual harassment - to talk about and report it without fear of judgment.

And we found our solution in social media, as this is something that people already have access to.

In a conservative country like the Philippines, victims of sexual harassment would rather stay silent, for fear of judgment from their peers.

Gabriela, the country’s foremost advocate of women’s rights, wanted to take that fear away.

By making the best use of AI, they found their solution.

Introducing GABBIE – a chatbot that you can talk to about sexual harassment (and its many different forms) without fear of judgment, and one that can help you report it comfortably and confidentially.