A group of University of Wollongong students have developed a mobile app aimed at stopping young domestic violence perpetrators from reoffending and breaching apprehensive violence orders (AVOs).
The six computer science students partnered with police and Youth Justice NSW to develop solutions to help people aged 10 to 17 better understand the conditions of their AVO and inform them about the support services available.
Their solution was an app called YAVOS (Youth Apprehended Violence Order Support).
It provides people with access to a range of interactive learning modules, a court date and goal-setting reminder tool, and links to support services such as Lifeline and local homeless shelters.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Dean Smith said the platform would greatly assist police in their ongoing efforts to keep young people out of the justice system.
"Whether or not young people are victims of family and domestic violence, or if they find themselves as perpetrators, it is up to us to make sure that we look after them and we provide them with as much information as possible so they don't reoffend," he said.
"The students have given us forward-thinking ideas, looking at different ways to approach and engage our young people to get the best outcomes for them."
A challenging task
YAVOS co-designer Stephanie Seymour said the COVID-19 pandemic hit just as the app moved into its final stages of development and working remotely proved a challenge for her and her peers.
"For developers, we're used to working technically, but there are always going to be challenges working remotely, especially when you're working with clients and need to get that communication feedback," she said.
Despite the setback, she said the project had been a rewarding experience.
"It was predominately about getting involved in a real-world project in order to get experience to better understand what it's like to work with clients in the real world and communicate with people outside a technical context and to work on something that would benefit real people."
