Editor's Note: I had the pleasure of interviewing FaceUp's Lucy Cadova for my forthcoming book, and found her to be wonderfully thoughtful and articulate (English is her second language by the way). I hope you will be as impressed by the app she describes below as I was!
We all know that bullying, sexual harassment, and other things take place in schools, which is frightening. More than one of every five students has been bullied. These numbers need to be changed, and there's no time to lose.
But how to make a change, you ask?
With my friends, we’ve been asking this question for a long time. How can we help to stop bullying and other similar things from happening while still being students ourselves? Our solution is FaceUp.
We live in the era when cell phones and the Internet surround us everywhere. So we made this an advantage. We decided to develop an app, alongside a web system, to help those kids affected by bullying. We knew there was no time to wait, and we knew we needed to make a change because bullying and sexual harassment just have to stop. That is how (and why) FaceUp was born.
What is FaceUp About?
Anyone can help and become a hero.
FaceUp is a platform that enables students to communicate with their school staff anonymously. Bullied kids are usually scared to reach out, but FaceUp gives them an opportunity to report the victim anonymously.
No backlash and no tattle-tailing, as we focus on the affected one first.
Bystanders can finally speak up without being targeted; anyone can be a hero. Not only that, but anyone can also share their problems anonymously with an adult via real-time chat. And if there’s an emergency, they can press a button to call for immediate help.
Students to Students
We’ve all been there. Some of us were bullied, called names, got harassed or just witnessed such a thing, scared to speak up. Now, there is not only a product to solve this, but a whole story behind the project. Reaching out face-to-face isn’t always easy, no one wants to be judged. We know how that feels, therefore we know what may help.
FaceUp - Let’s Help
We wish to make things easier for those who need it. It hurts to know that there are thousands of kids who are afraid to come to school every day. FaceUp’s here to change that.
Everyone deserves a safe school environment. Being students ourselves, we know how it feels, and we know what other students need.
We wish to ensure safety in schools, to make sure no one gets harmed.
We want to make a positive change with FaceUp.
Author: Lucy Cadova
FaceUp team member
