Daisy is a phone app that connects women affected by sexual assault, domestic and family violence, to services and information in their local area.

Daisy 2.0, released on September 3, is an upgrade to the original app released in March this year, and connects more women to services through its focus on support for rural and remote women and those who are culturally and linguistically diverse.

The Northern Territory Office of Women’s Policy has been part of the national advisory group to develop the app, and provides updates for Northern Territory services.

Suzanne Everingham, Director of the Office of Women’s Policy, said “Daisy provides women with a user-friendly list of specialist domestic and family violence services in the Northern Territory or their local area. The upgraded version has also been developed for rural and remote women, and women of varying literacy levels. This improved accessibility is important for Northern Territory women, and something which we highlighted in the advisory group meetings.”

For women unaware of the services available, the app contains descriptions of the services, including details such as hours of operation and which services are free.

Features of the upgraded version include translated information in 28 languages, text to voice functionality for women with vision impairment or low literacy, and an SMS function for women living in rural and remote areas.

Special features include a ‘Get Help’ function that allows users to quickly call 000, and a ‘quick exit’ button to leave sites containing service information.

As well as providing information on emergency services, Daisy connects women to counselling, shelters, legal and financial assistance, and services for men.

Daisy has been developed with input from all state and territory governments, and funded through the Australian Government as part of its 1800 Respect program. It is an initiative under the Second Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022, of which the Northern Territory Government is a signatory.

Daisy is free to download from the App store for iPhones, and Google Play for Android phones. Find out more at: https://www.1800respect.org.au/daisy/

To include your organisation in the list of services or update your details, please email the Office of Women’s Policy at owp@nt.gov.au.

Media contact:       Jane McCrory 0427 915 108