Discreet Disclosures

Breaking down the walls, tackling GBV in the workplace

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Inspiration

During a challenging period marked by my retrenchment, the Discreet Disclosures project became deeply personal. Following a difficult work incident prior to my departure from the corporate world, I realized how AI had empowered me to articulate the struggles I faced, leveraging South African legal protections. By contextualizing AI with relevant legal documentation, it became a powerful tool for expressing what I couldn’t openly voice. Motivated by a passion to support others, we combined AI with encryption techniques to create a secure resource aimed at helping women navigate the complexities of male-dominated industries—especially when they might feel vulnerable or silenced.

What it does

Discreet Disclosures is a tool designed to empower individuals—especially women in male-dominated workplaces—by enabling them to securely document and communicate their experiences. The system uses AI to help users frame their disclosures with language aligned to South African legal standards, ensuring that their reports are both clear and protected. It integrates encryption techniques to keep these sensitive disclosures private and secure.

The solution assists users in transforming their raw experiences into structured, legally-contextualized reports, providing them with a confidential way to express concerns, highlight injustices, or simply document events. The ultimate goal is to offer a safe, empowering platform for those who may otherwise struggle to speak up, ensuring their voices are heard while protecting their privacy.

How we built it

The Discreet Disclosures project was born during a deeply personal period of reflection following my exit from the corporate world. I encountered a situation where I needed to document workplace challenges while feeling vulnerable in a male-dominated environment. Inspired by this, my husband and I developed a system that combines AI, encryption, and South African legal documentation to empower others in similar situations.

To build it, we used a combination of AI models for natural language processing to contextualize user inputs according to legal standards, ensuring that disclosures are framed in language aligned with South African law. We also integrated encryption protocols to protect sensitive information. The project was developed using Python, leveraging various libraries for data security and machine learning.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was ensuring that the AI could accurately understand and interpret sensitive disclosures in context. Creating a system that could strike a balance between legal accuracy and user empathy was difficult. Another challenge was integrating robust encryption to protect the confidentiality of sensitive data without making the tool cumbersome for users. Additionally, the emotional weight of building a solution tied so closely to my personal journey was challenging but ultimately drove us to persist.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud that Discreet Disclosures offers a safe, confidential, and legally supported way for women (and anyone feeling vulnerable) to report workplace challenges. The tool has the potential to make a meaningful impact by empowering people to document their experiences securely. Successfully integrating AI with contextual legal framing, while also ensuring robust data privacy, was a significant technical and emotional achievement for us.

What we learned

Building Discreet Disclosures taught us the importance of combining technical solutions with empathy. We learned how to leverage AI not just for efficiency, but for empowering users to navigate difficult situations with confidence. Additionally, we deepened our understanding of encryption techniques and the nuances of legal documentation, realizing the critical balance between technology and human experience.

What's next for Discreet Disclosures

Our next step is to expand Discreet Disclosures by refining the AI model to include additional legal frameworks beyond South Africa, making it more globally applicable. We also aim to integrate voice input features to further simplify disclosures for users who may struggle to type out their experiences. Finally, we plan to collaborate with NGOs and legal support organizations to offer this tool to those in need, especially in marginalized communities, ensuring they have a safe and secure way to voice their concerns.

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