In the weeks following the January 5th launch of his project, Franck and his team are reportedly very encouraged by the host of partnerships they have secured and support they have received from the local community. After negotiating with various service-providers, TIGO S.P.R.L has agreed to provide a free text messaging service and an open-line to assist in the project’s implementation. Police officers have proved very enthusiastic and cooperative when it comes to utilizing the service; of the 24 police stations located in Kinshasa, 16 have already used the service to report cases involving abuse against women.

This month honors International Women’s Day, and to honor the event Franck’s team joined the DRC’s National Campaign on Violence Against Women. So far, the team is averaging about 10 cases per day. In most of the cases that have been reported, husbands have been the perpetrators of the abuse. In order to expand the reach of their services they have recruited three more volunteer lawyers to join the team and are thinking of hiring more.

A further victory includes the reported heightening of awareness surrounding issues of violence against women. As outlined in his project proposal, Franck managed to solicit the help of the local media to distribute relevant information. The team also had plans to release a monthly journal to the public with details of the reported crimes, however issues of privacy in addition to social and cultural factors have prevented them from doing so at this time.