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Meeka's Secret app

An interactive app to teach children about stranger danger and the process of sexual abuse - to learn how to say no and ask for help.

Note: This app appears to no longer be available in the New Zealand app stores.

Meeka's Secret	By Hooooo Foundation
	Features Gamification Education and information
Clinical review	Free version Paid version Read a clinical review of this app.
User reviews	(0 reviews) Have you used this app? Tell us what you think of it. Rate this app
Cost	Free (basic); paid upgrade The free version stops abruptly very early in the story. It costs NZD $7 to unlock. This is not mentioned on the app download page. Learn more about app charges

What does the app do?

Meeka's Secret is an app that aims to open the lines of communication on stranger danger and child sexual abuse. The app can help parents to become aware, educated, and feel comfortable to talk to their child about sexual abuse. It can be used a preventive tool or as a start to a road to recovery for children who have been sexually abused.

The app tells the story of a gender-neutral insect, Meeka, whose wings are considered its private parts that should not be touched by others. When an adult insect touches Meeka’s wings, the little one becomes confused about how to respond and react. Through stunning digital artistry and powerful storytelling, viewers are taught how to speak up, self-advocate and heal.

For a detailed review, see Reviews.

PROS	CONS
✔ Input from several psychologists. ✔ Professional voice acting. ✔ Visually engaging with beautiful artwork. ✔ Covers saying no, asking for help, emotional resilience, guilt, compassion, depression, shame and fear.	✘ The free version stops abruptly very early in the story. It costs NZD $7 to unlock. This was not mentioned on the app download page. ✘ Most children are abused by family members or other trusted people known to them, often repeatedly. The app doesn’t cover this unfortunate reality. The abuser in the story is a stranger who abuses her once (he “touches her wings”) which is a less common scenario. ✘ The app recommends speaking to your parents, which would not be helpful if the parent(s) were the abusers. It would be better if the app let you choose who to talk to and then continue the story from there. ✘ The game section was visually appealing, but the gameplay had some issues. It is a platformer, and they have tried to simplify it by only allowing the user to jump while Meeka moves automatically. The gameplay felt unresponsive and twice Meeka became stuck due to being unable to control the movement direction and I had to restart both times.

PROS

CONS

✔ Input from several psychologists.

✔ Professional voice acting.

✔ Visually engaging with beautiful artwork.

✔ Covers saying no, asking for help, emotional resilience, guilt, compassion, depression, shame and fear.

✘ The free version stops abruptly very early in the story. It costs NZD $7 to unlock. This was not mentioned on the app download page.

✘ Most children are abused by family members or other trusted people known to them, often repeatedly. The app doesn’t cover this unfortunate reality. The abuser in the story is a stranger who abuses her once (he “touches her wings”) which is a less common scenario.

✘ The app recommends speaking to your parents, which would not be helpful if the parent(s) were the abusers. It would be better if the app let you choose who to talk to and then continue the story from there.

✘ The game section was visually appealing, but the gameplay had some issues. It is a platformer, and they have tried to simplify it by only allowing the user to jump while Meeka moves automatically. The gameplay felt unresponsive and twice Meeka became stuck due to being unable to control the movement direction and I had to restart both times.

Review details

Date of review: February 2019
Platform reviewed: Android
Version: 1.45
Updated on: 28/01/2019
Download size: 81.79 MB

Learn more

The following links have more resources on child sexual abuse.

Child abuse(external link) KidsHealth, New Zealand

Parents(external link) Child Matters New Zealand

Are your kids safe(external link) (Te Reo(external link)) New Zealand Police

The underwear rule(external link) One in Five, Council of Europe

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