The Butterfly Button, a digital solution enabling users discreetly report domestic violence, has so far been implemented in more than 500 websites in the world and about 22 thousand users received a digital response on the topic of domestic violence and more than 1,200 people received real assistance.
Nathanael Amer, the CEO of the project that allows discreet reporting of cases of domestic violence, said that about 22,000 Ynet users have received assistance since the button was implemented in November: “One of the amazing innovations is the involvement of men who are on the abusive side.” The project began to operate also in the ultra-Orthodox community and is expected to expand to the Arab sector.
The Butterfly Button, enabling users to discreetly report domestic violence, has so far been implemented in more than 500 websites in the world – this is what Nathaniel Amer, who is behind the project together with Peri Shalom, told Ynet
this morning (Monday). According to Amer, since the button was implemented on Ynet last November, about 22 thousand users have received a digital response on the issue of domestic violence and more than 1,200 people received real assistance. In the vast majority of cases, the users reporting were women.
“The Butterfly is a digital platform, and is basically a One-Stop-Shop, concentrating everyone affected by or everything we need in the field of domestic violence,” Amer explained, “All this is done in complete anonymity, without leaving any traces on the applicant’s device.” The Button won last year at the Hackathon of the Michal Sela Forum, an annual competition aimed at developing projects to prevent domestic violence, and held in memory of the late Michal Sela, who was murdered by her partner.
Behind the button is the start-up “Kabo – connecting to a safe world” which Amer leads. As mentioned, the button was implemented in Ynet last November and it appears on the left side of the website, under the accessibility button. It can also be found in the Ynet app under the menu icon on the left side of the screen. In recent months, The Butterfly Button has also been implemented on the websites of Discount Bank, Shufersal, Cellcom, Sheba Hospital, Maccabi Health Fund, Migdal and Kelal insurance companies and more.
“One of the most amazing innovations that we manage to produce through this platform, thanks to the fact that we are not connected to the police and welfare, is the involvement of
men, even those who are on the abusive side,” Amar said proudly. According to him, these applicants “Feel more open to come for consultation once they know that there are really no consequences. Getting consultation through our platform, compared to others, does not necessarily mean someone will come knocking on their door the day after.”
If a person comes and says “I am violent towards my wife” and he asks for your help, do you have a way of knowing who he is and allegedly reporting him?
He said: “No, we have no way of knowing who he is. To be clear, we, as a company, are not exposed to any of the information that passes through us. Both in terms of cyber security and in terms of the contacting party, the only ones who really know what is happening in the conversation is the contacting party and the consulting therapist, from a non-violence association.” The project recently began operating in the ultra-Orthodox community as part of a collaboration with the Bat Melech association, which is responsible for handling inquiries. According to Amer, the company plans to start operating in the Arab sector as well and is in contact with government officials in Colombia who have expressed interest in cooperation and implementing the Button in in their systems. In March, the startup participated in the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women and presented The Butterfly Button as an Israeli-International technology to save lives and help prevent domestic violence.
