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Introducing ShoutOUT; a low-cost* way for members and allies of the LGBTQI+ community to access information and knowledge on being LGBTQI+, or request free legal, health & psychological support, all within 2 minutes. No data needed!
ShoutOUT was made possible by a grant from Grand Challenges Canada in 2022. The platform has been designed and refined with feedback and input from the South African LGBTQI+ community to get to the heart of the issues the community cares about.
ShoutOUT is built on USSD phone technology, meaning it’s:
After you make a request, we will process your request and connect a LGBTQI+ friendly service provider to you. They, or us, will phone you for a follow-up and consultation. Our partners will try to help you over the phone as far as possible, and if they are unable to, will refer you to a nearby location for further engagement.
Your information remains completely confidential and won’t be shared with outside parties who are uninvolved in helping you further.
What is it?
The 0008-error message happens sometimes when you dial the platform. This just means that a lot of LGBTQI+ people in South Africa are trying to access ShoutOUT, and our servers are struggling to process the requests.
Solution?
Try dialling the code again after waiting for 10 minutes.
What is it?
An 0007-error message can also occur when dialling ShoutOUT. This is an error with your cell phone and can prevent you from accessing ShoutOUT.
Solution?
Restarting your cell phone often fixes this error, allowing you normal access to ShoutOUT.
What is it?
An 00010-error message means that the servers hosting our service are currently down. This would be an issue on our side, and we’d be working quickly to resolve it.
Solution?
Unfortunately there is nothing you can do, except check back in a day to see if the servers are back online.
What is it?
While cheap, ShoutOUT & USSD does cost some airtime (R0.01 for every second you are navigating the platform). If you use up all your airtime, when trying to enter a new command or dial the platform, you will be told you have run out of airtime.
Solution?
The only way to access ShoutOUT again is unfortunately to buy more airtime. Remember that ShoutOUT uses R0.60 of airtime per minute. However, with a maximum of two minutes on the platform per session, you’ll never be charged more than R1.20 for each time you dial.
What is it?
USSD technology limits sessions – every time you dial into the platform – to two minutes. You won’t get a message telling you when you reach two minutes. What will happen is that when you try to enter a command on the platform after two minutes, you will get a message saying ‘unknown application’. This same message can also occur when someone spends too much time on one screen.
Solution?
Simply click okay and redial the ShoutOUT number. A screen will tell you that your input is not recognised. By entering 98, you can return to the last screen you saw before getting the unknown application message. Or you can enter 00 to go back to the main menu, and explore other parts of the platform.
What is it?
This error message can sometimes occur when there is a sudden drop in connectivity, and will kick you off of the ShoutOUT platform.
Solution?
Tap on okay, or the red hangup button, to close the message. Then redial the platform, by entering 98 you will be returned to where you left off. You can also enter 00 to return to the main menu, and explore other parts of ShoutOUT.
Telephone: 012 430 3272
South Africa international dialing code: +27