ALI, THE CHAT THAT EMPOWERS AND PROTECTS

I am Viviana Vizuete Coronel, a graduate in Environmental Management with broad experience in environmental awareness-raising and training programs addressing human rights, livelihoods, and gender issues for various audiences.

I currently serve on a consulting team specializing in the implementation of gender mainstreaming within conservation projects and the formulation of gender-sensitive policies for public and non-governmental organizations, ensuring the integration of inclusive perspectives in project development and execution.

As a founding member of the MAGMA Collective, and committed to eradicating gender-based violence in the islands, I have collaborated with fellow advocates who share this objective. Our work focuses on prevention, aiming to dismantle myths and social patterns that negatively affect the life trajectories of thousands of young people and adolescents.

In Ecuador, 6 out of 10 women have experienced gender-based violence (ENVIGMU, 2019), and according to civil society data, there is a femicide every 28 hours in the country, with 50% of femicides having had a romantic relationship with the victim (ALIANZA, 2022). The overall prevalence of violence against women in the Galapagos province reaches 55.7% (ENVICMU, 2019).

Furthermore, in 2021, for every 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 in Galapagos, there were 17 live births (INEC, 2021). Motherhood impacts the development and life plans of these young women as they are mostly forced to leave their studies and start working due to the need to support their child(ren), resulting in lower levels of education and professionalization for women. Due to limited available services and the difficulty for young people to access them, the AH chatbot is created. It is a free, confidential messaging system tailored to the language and needs of this group to clarify doubts, provide information, counseling, and support networks in cases of violence against women and teenage pregnancy.

This project proposes an innovative tool that uses technology and artificial intelligence to generate free and confidential conversations with teens and generate free and confidential conversations with adolescents and young people seeking inclusive and reliable information to and young people seeking inclusive and reliable information to identify, prevent and seek support networks in situations of violence against women and teenage pregnancy.

The chatbotAli is the first chat that exists in Ecuador with information and counseling for youth. Information and counseling for young people, it is also a safe technological space for girls and adolescents, promoting access to It is also a safe technological space for girls and adolescents, promoting women’s access to ICTs.

1. Provide young people in San Cristóbal with a technological tool offering information and guidance on the prevention of violence against women and teenage pregnancy.

2. Implement violence against women prevention workshops for adolescents and young adults in San Cristóbal using a play-based methodology developed by the Aliados Foundation.

3. Strengthen the capacities of the MAGMA collective, women’s collectives, feminist groups, dissidents, and community leaders in San Cristóbal for the dissemination, sustainability, and expansion of the project in the Galápagos.

• 3.7: This project contributes to ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, including, among other factors, information, education, and adapted programs. The project considers indicator 3.7.2, which aims to reduce teenage pregnancies, as young people will find information about their sexual and reproductive rights from an inclusive and comprehensive approach in the Ali chatbot.
• 4.7: With the project, the aim is for students to acquire the knowledge and skills that allow them to achieve sustainable development through education adapted to their environment, emphasizing access to information on gender equality, human rights, and the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence.
• 5.2: This goal proposes the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence and other forms of exploitation against women, girls, and adolescents in different aspects of their lives, which corresponds with the main objective of this project. Through workshops and the use of the Ali chatbot, information is provided on how to prevent, identify, and report gender-based violence, contributing to the construction of a life free from violence.