Ending Violence Against Children Accelerator 

Society is measured by the way we treat our most vulnerable members. If that is the case, Australia is not measuring up. Before the age of 15, one in six girls and one in nine boys will experience sexual or physical violence. Violence against children takes many forms: including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and may take a more insidious form through neglect or deprivation. 

The impact entrepreneurs who participated in our first evac accelerator have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to ending violence against children through their ground-breaking approaches.

Hailing from New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, and Victoria, these impact entrepreneurs are tackling this pressing issue from all angles.

 

• Rachel Downie with Stymie – Audience Vote Winner

 

Problem

Suicide is the leading cause of death in Australia for people aged 15-44. 

Solution

Stymie is an anonymous, online reporting platform implemented in schools and made available to the community. The school receives anonymous messages from community members and students alike regarding children and adolescents who have suicidal ideations, been engaging in self harm, been sexually assaulted, and been bullied, or are at risk of harm. The team trained to respond develops an intervention based on the information received, disrupting the cycle of harm. 

 

• Chris Boyle with Commsync Foundation

 

Problem

Over the last decade the number of child abuse cases reported to the child protection system across Australia have tripled.

Solution

CommsyncAlert has developed a wearable technology which transmits live audio and location at the touch of a button or in response to a voice command. This alerts pre-identified supporters to call triple zero or respond in the way they see fit. 

 

• Liz Walker with eChildhood

 

Problem

Minors in Australia currently have unfettered online access to hardcore pornography. The increase in availability of pornography is related to a rise in child on child sexual abuse, mental health issues, sexual assaults, distortion of adolescent sexual scripts, child porn addiction, and online grooming.

Solution

eChildhood equips carers and supporters of children with a full understanding of pornography and its detrimental effects. eChildhood also provides age-appropriate strategies and offers guidance on how to best support minors negatively impacted by pornography.

 

• Ashlee Crane with Jasiri Australia

 

Problem

One in three Australian women has experienced physical violence since the age of 15 and young women are more likely to experience physical or sexual violence than older women.

Solution

Jasiri Australia offers two main programs: Self Defence and Girls Takeover Parliament

(GTOP). The Self Defence Program offers a comprehensive curriculum consisting of martial arts, de-escalation techniques, and psychological awareness across five levels. It is both preventative and restorative, with a focus on psychological healing and community building. Upon completion of the course, participants are invited to join the GTOP program, Jasiri’s leadership initiative.

 

• Brandon Friedman with Elephant Ed

 

Problem

98% of students have said they feel uncomfortable talking about sex education and many teachers are forced to teach the subject with little to no preparation or experience.

Solution

As an outsourced provider with an in-house feel, Elephant Ed eases the burden of maintaining comprehensive, relevant, and age-appropriate sex education in schools. Elephant ed is reinvigorating the stale sex education of the past in three key ways: engaging content, a lively delivery, and relatable people.

 

• Dayna Russell with Restoring Hope

 

Problem

Before their 18th birthday, one in six boys and one in three girls will experience sexual abuse in Australia. When these boys and girls are first brought to the authorities, they often have their clothing and personal items removed for forensic testing.

Solution

While Restoring Hope recognises that they are not in the position to eradicate sexual abuse itself, they are able to provide immediate support and care to survivors. Restoring Hope provides crisis care packs to victims of sexual abuse which can enable them to begin their healing journey as soon as possible.

After the success of the yher Appeal, our team in the Pacific launched the first fully-scaled yher Pacific Program in mid-july. Following an extensive recruitment drive, we selected 11 local female impact entrepreneurs from Fiji, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. 

Their impact ventures were chosen for their impressive contribution towards achieving the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

After the program, Audrey Jean-Baptiste – ygap Program Manager and yher Facilitator – met with a number of the local Fijian and regional organisations to discuss how we can further collaborate to develop an accessible, inclusive and self-sustaining entrepreneurial ecosystem across the region. Audrey was also invited to represent ygap in the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) which is  Canada-funded project consultation on Catalyzing Women Entrepreneurship in Fiji. The four year project focuses on building a Gender-responsive entrepreneurial ecosystem, developing innovative financing mechanisms and creating an enabling environment for ICT-empowered women entrepreneurs.

These are really exciting times for the yher Program and for our continuing involvement in the gender space, for further information feel free to contact audrey@ygap.org.

 

Our ygap impact entrepreneurs never cease to amaze us with the work that they do. This month we (re)introduce Louise Williamson, ygap South Africa 2017 Alumni, with her venture Sustainability Professionals whose most recent impact figures are definitely worth your attention!

The Problem

36% of the rural South African population relies on wood fuel for cooking resulting in 36,000 cooks suffering lung and eye diseases from the smoke.

Solution

Louise developed the Mashesha stove, which has three benefits:

1. Burns with a clean hot flame halving the fuel and cooking time.
2. Using briquettes made from waste cardboard reducing waste and pollution.
3. Creating a simplified production of the briquettes allowing for work opportunities inclusive of people with disabilities.

Louise joined the ygap South Africa Program in February 2017 and received a $25,000 growth grant in January 2018. She set herself a benchmark impact figure of 40 lives, which has grown by a landslide amount of 1150%, impacting 500 lives at the most recent reporting period.

“ygap was the first business accelerator I attended and I really appreciated the assistance with fast-tracking on learning how to set up a business model, learn how to pitch, and most especially how generous ygap was with sharing success stories and failures of entrepreneurs so that we could learn from their experiences and guidance.’’- Louise Williamson