Abstract:
181 women distress helpline provides immediate assistance to women in
distress and helps them overcome emotional and bureaucratic challenges.
In this work, we present the detailed understa ndings of our qualitative and quantitative studies conducted at a women distress helpline operational in
Delhi, India. We perceive the helpline as a non-pro t alliance which re-
quires productive cooperation of callers, stakeholders, state government
and other organizations for its success. The study ampli es our under-
standing of the helpline and presents an exhaustive outline of the technological practices in the present ecosystem of the helpline. Our analysis
revealed numerous technological gaps in 3 vital areas: inter-organization
collaboration, follow ups and preventing abandoned calls. The identied
gaps can be filled by designing technological interventions keeping in mind
the unique constraints of the helpline. These interventions can result in
more e fficient and e ffective use of the helpline. However, our understandings are
speci fic to the helpline under study, more case studies are required to gain
generic understanding of such helplines.
