Freedom Charity’s Phone App
Freedom Charity · Safeguarding technology
The Freedom App
Know the signs. Find support.
The Freedom Charity App provides information, safeguarding guidance and routes to help for people affected by forced marriage, FGM and related abuse, as well as friends and professionals.
App availability and device compatibility can change. Check the store listing before relying on it.
Why it mattered
Safeguarding information in a young person’s pocket
Forced marriage and Dishonour Abuse can involve isolation, control of movement, confiscated documents and fear of telling an adult. The App was created as another route to information for young people, friends, teachers and professionals.
K+
Freedom App downloads
Help us reach more people
Help bring Freedom to Android.
We are seeking support to develop, test and maintain an Android version of the App, so more young people, friends and professionals can find safeguarding information and routes to help.
For a gift specifically towards Android development, please contact Freedom before donating.
Watch the original film
The Freedom App in action
Watch Freedom’s original App film, previously featured on this website, to see the thinking behind another route to safeguarding information and support.
Watching a video or opening a link may leave activity on your device or account. If you are concerned someone is monitoring you, use a device you know is safer. Open the original video on YouTube ↗
Documented history
Government-partner launch
Government records document a Forced Marriage Unit stakeholder event on 5 March 2013 at which Freedom’s smartphone App was launched. GOV.UK records Forced Marriage Unit part-funding and safeguarding input involving the Metropolitan Police. Freedom’s archive identifies Lancaster House as the venue.
The App belongs in the wider history of Freedom’s forced-marriage work alongside the helpline, But It’s Not Fair, Parliamentary evidence, school education and professional training.
Who it is for
Different users, different responsibilities
Young people
Use it to understand warning signs and help routes, but use a safer device if yours may be monitored.
Friends
Use it to learn what not to do: do not confront relatives, mediate or investigate a forced-marriage concern.
Teachers
Use it for signposting and education, not as a substitute for the school’s safeguarding procedure.
Police
The App can support awareness; operational decisions must follow policing powers, risk assessment and current guidance.
Social workers
Use it as a public information resource while applying statutory child/adult safeguarding duties.
Health staff
Use it for signposting but follow clinical, reporting and safeguarding duties relevant to the presenting issue.
Technology safety
A useful tool can still leave a digital trace
Deleting history, changing passwords or resetting a device can sometimes alert a controlling person or remove useful evidence. A person at risk should think first about immediate safety and seek specialist advice before making sudden security changes if they are unsure.
The safest route may be another device, a trusted professional’s phone, or a computer the perpetrator cannot access.
Need help now?
Do not rely on an app alone.
If there is immediate danger call 999. For forced-marriage advice, the Forced Marriage Unit can help people at risk and professionals. Freedom’s helpline page lists current support routes.
Freedom Charity
Built to be checked.
Freedom Charity was co-founded in 2009 by Aneeta Prem MBE and Lord Toby Harris. The charity’s public record connects safeguarding, education, books, technology, campaigns, professional training, policy and routes to help. Where Freedom reports its own reach, it labels it as Freedom data; where an external source verifies a milestone, the source is linked.
Original photographs · Freedom App launch
The young people who helped bring the App to life.
A photographic record of Freedom’s App launch, with young people and supporters coming together around safer access to information and help.
Young people at the launch
The App in young hands
Young people taking part
From the launch
Young voices
Books and conversations
Guests and supporters
A moment from the day
Together at the launch
App launch momentsSelect any photograph to see the original image in full. More photographs from the launch will be added as they are uploaded.