New app helps domestic violence victims document their abuse

A new app for smartphones will help the victims of domestic violence document their abuse for law enforcement.

News 12 Staff

Aug 1, 2019, 10:15 PM

Updated 1,973 days ago

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A new app for smartphones will help the victims of domestic violence document their abuse for law enforcement.
A Morris County police lieutenant, who was also the victim of domestic violence, is now working with VictimsVoice as its new law enforcement advisor.
Lt. Heather Glogolich says that she often deals with domestic violence calls at work. She says that she too was a victim.
"He came home drunk and woke me up and just for four hours basically tortured me,” Glogolich says.
Glogolich says that her now-ex-husband was also a police officer. She says that she came forward after the abuse, got out of the relationship and is now helping other victims through the use of technology.
"This is evidence-based documentation, which helps us not only charge people, but it helps the prosecutor’s office prosecute them,” Glogolich says.
The app gives victims of domestic violence a way to discreetly document their abuse.
Sheri Kurdakul founded the app. She says that it allows the victim to answer a series of questions.
"Who else was around? What was the situation like? Was the house destroyed? Do you have pictures of that? Were their children in the home while this was happening? Were there any weapons in the home? These are the types of information we gather in this app to make sure that they're collecting all the right information in addition to just telling their story in their own words,” Kurdakul says.
The information is stored on a secure server and not on the person’s phone. The icon itself is non-descript and the app can be accessed through any computer.
"If I could have walked in there and given the prosecutor’s office everything, it would've just been easier,” says Glogolich.
The app also lets you designate someone to receive the information if you're not able to retrieve it yourself – something the founders say is its most important feature.
More information about the app can be found on the VictimsVoice website.