Labisa sexual harassment whistleblowing system

Abstract

Sexual harassment remains a significant issue within educational institutions globally, including Makerere University in Uganda. Despite existing laws and policies, underreporting and inadequate enforcement hinder efforts to combat this pervasive problem. This study proposes the development of a comprehensive whistleblowing system tailored to address sexual harassment at Makerere University. The system aims to empower victims and witnesses to safely and confidentially report incidents, ensuring swift and fair investigations. By fostering a campus environment where respect and dignity are paramount, the system seeks to mitigate the prevalence of sexual harassment and improve overall safety and well-being. This initiative aligns with global efforts towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5, focusing on gender equality and the elimination of violence against women and girls. The project involved research to develop the LABISA sexual harassment whistleblowing system that enables students to anonymously report cases of sexual harassment within Makerere University without fear of retaliation. They interviewed 273 individuals including teaching staff, students, and support staff. The collected data was analyzed using excel spreadsheets. The project was designed using Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) for the process model and Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERDs) for the data model. It was implemented using technologies such as; Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) for the interfaces, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) for styling the interfaces, bootstrap for responsiveness, Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) for connecting the database and the interfaces, and MySQL for the database.