Checkmate is a speculative design concept addressing the growing dangers of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the context of digital dating. It proposes a near-future intervention: a government-supported plugin that requires ID verification and flags users with criminal or sexual offense records. The project explores how technology, policy, and design could collaborate to create safer platforms, rooted in the urgent reality of how easily offenders operate on dating apps without accountability.

Rather than offering an immediate technical fix, Checkmate poses a question to both public and private sectors: why haven’t we done more to protect vulnerable users? In South Africa, where GBV rates remain among the highest globally, inaction is no longer neutral. This speculative vision challenges app developers, policymakers, and users to reconsider their responsibilities.

In this proposed system, dating apps would integrate Checkmate during onboarding. Users would register with their South African ID, automatically checked against criminal and sexual offense databases. Those flagged would be blocked from creating profiles. Though raising privacy concerns, the project encourages dialogue: How do we balance personal privacy and public safety? Whose safety is prioritized, and whose voices are ignored?

Beyond app functionality, Checkmate critiques tech culture’s prioritization of rapid growth over ethical accountability. It imagines a future where safety is embedded from the start, not retrofitted after harm occurs.

Created using Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Figma prototypes, the project combines personal research, consultation with GBV survivors and NGOs (Women for Change), and supervisor feedback. Its centerpiece is a five-minute mixed-media film—combining live footage, illustration, rotoscope animation, and real statistics—set to the Soweto Gospel Choir’s rendition of Weeping.

Checkmate doesn’t claim to solve GBV but reframes design as preventative intervention. The scariest part of dating should be sending the first message; Checkmate seeks to make that true.