Whistleblowing System for Website-Based Sexual Violence Complaints: An Improved Approach Combining Design Thinking and Software Development Life Cycle

Cases of sexual violence in higher education often go unreported due to concerns about reporter identity safety and the absence of adequate reporting mechanisms. This study developed a website-based sexual violence reporting system equipped with whistleblowing features, using a combined approach of Design Thinking and the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The Design Thinking stages were applied to understand user needs and design empathy-based solutions, while SDLC provided the technical framework for system implementation. Development followed an iterative process, starting with planning, UI/UX design, and interface development using React.js, and then proceeding to system testing through black-box testing, usability testing, and the System Usability Scale (SUS). The testing results show that the system functions as intended and achieved a SUS score of 82.43 (Excellent category) from the user side and 79.5 (Good category) from the admin side, indicating that the system is easy to use and fosters a sense of safety and comfort for reporters. Overall, the system shows potential to enhance comfort, security, and the effectiveness of digital reporting for sexual violence cases.