Design, Development and Evaluation of a Student-Centred Digital Innovation for Gender-Based Violence Prevention, Reporting and Support in Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study Protocol

Background Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a serious social and public health concern in South Africa and presents particular challenges within higher education. Although universities may have policies, reporting mechanisms and support services, students may face barriers to reporting and accessing assistance, including fear of retaliation, stigma, confidentiality concerns and institutional distrust. Digital technologies may strengthen access to information, reporting pathways, emergency assistance and institutional support. However, digital GBV interventions also raise concerns regarding privacy, safety, trust, accessibility and institutional integration (Lattie et al. 2019). This protocol describes a student-centred, privacy-conscious digital innovation informed by students’ identified needs and linked to existing university support structures. Protocol The study will employ a multi-phase mixed-methods design at the University of Venda. Phase 1 will examine students’ needs, experiences and perceptions regarding GBV prevention, reporting, institutional support and digital help-seeking through an online questionnaire. Phase 2 will use the needs assessment and engagement with relevant users and institutional stakeholders to inform development and refinement of the digital innovation. Phase 3 will evaluate the prototype with intended student users, focusing on usability, accessibility, acceptability, perceived usefulness, privacy and trustworthiness. Phase 4 will examine pilot implementation and institutional feasibility, including institutional fit, referral pathways, stakeholder responsibilities, resources, barriers and facilitators. User-Centred Design will guide development, Privacy-by-Design will provide a cross-cutting ethical and design principle, and relevant constructs from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research will guide implementation assessment (Klaic, 2022). Discussion The study will generate evidence on how a student-centred, privacy-conscious digital GBV innovation can be developed from students’ needs, evaluated by intended users and responsibly integrated with existing higher-education support systems. It will focus on usability, acceptability, trustworthiness and feasibility rather than determining whether the innovation reduces GBV prevalence or increases institutional reporting.