We Encourage Oy Ltd

Global estimates published by WHO indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime [UK1]. The issues are not only impacting the targeted women. They also affect their children’s health as well as the health of the perpetrators and people around them. In addition to the human suffering, the economical price tag, directly and indirectly, of mental ill-health are estimated at over 4% of global GDP, reaching more than $6 trillion annually.[UK2]

We Encourage addressing this global issue of domestic violence and directly addressing UN Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5 by developing AINO Aid™. AINO is an AI intervention developed in close collaboration with domestic violence survivors and professionals. AINO's first version has launched in 6/2021 in Finland and it has been used over 2000 times with great feedback. AINO is the Digital Service of the Year 2021. [FIN3]

The first Aino service provides psycho-social support and guidance to the victims or perpetrators and people impacted to, first of all, understand what appropriate behaviors in intimate relationships are and how and why to seek help. The AI tool acts as a reliable source of information on their rights and step-by-step recommendations for actions. Aino, powered by AI, has been trained by specialized therapists to address topic-specific chats and communicate in different languages. The first languages in the pilot phase include Finnish, Swedish, English, and Swahili. Further, the translations of the conversations to other languages are taken care of by the therapist native in the respective languages.

AINO's first international co-development project is taking place in Tanzania with local partners.

[UK1]https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women
[UK2]https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Life-Sciences-Health-Care/gx-health-care-outlook-Final.pdf
[FIN3] https://www.sttinfo.fi/tiedote/annamme-aanen-vaiennetuille-aino-chatbot-on-vuoden-digipalvelu-joka-auttaa-lahisuhdevakivallan-uhreja-suomessa-ja-tansaniassa?publisherId=2046279&releaseId=69927062