On a quiet evening in her Abuja hotel, Joy Adeboye, 23, sits on her bed clutching her phone, her mind racing and chest tightening. On her screen is yet another abusive message from her stalker – a man she had met nine months earlier at her church.
He had asked Adeboye out; when she declined, he began sending her intimidating, insulting and blackmailing messages on social media, as well as spreading false information about her online. There were even death threats.
The experience is taking its toll on her mental health, leaving her struggling to cope. Family and friends she confided in did not take it seriously, and she cannot afford in-person therapy or counselling. As the feeling of panic rose at the sight of his words, she turns to an alternative: a WhatsApp chatbot called Chat Kemi.
“Good evening, Resilient Joy,” the bot types. “How are you today?”
Adeboye hesitates, then starts typing: “Someone is defaming me online and threatening to kill me, because I refused to date him. I am depressed and confused. What should I do?”
The chatbot, which Adeboye had heard about at an event on gender-based violence run by an NGO, advises her to deactivate her social media accounts and provide all necessary information about the person making the threats to someone she trusts.
For the first time in months, Adeboye says, she felt less alone.
Therapy was often too expensive and there weren’t enough professionals to meet the demand Moses Aiyenuro, Blueroomca
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