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GRIMdata

Global Rights Index Monitoring

GRIMdata is an open research initiative analyzing human rights through automated document analysis pipelines. We develop tools to track digital rights, protections for vulnerable populations, and policy implementation across countries.

Mission: Support evidence-based human rights research and advocacy through transparent, reproducible data analysis.

Research Foundation

"During periods of political and economic instability, some of the first rights to be infringed are specifically those which allow for women, LGBTQ+ members, and often specifically trans individuals, to assert their independence and retain self-autonomy and respect."

— Vollmer & Vollmer (2022), Stellenbosch Law Review DOI: 10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a1

GRIMdata's response: Decisions affecting marginalized populations' fundamental rights are being made RIGHT NOW with PERMANENT consequences—often by the wrong actors, based on assumptions rather than evidence. Both research tracks (SGBV-UPR for violence documentation, LittleRainbowRights for digital system deployments) use transparent tracking to replace assumptions with evidence BEFORE consequences become irreversible.

Core principle: Evidence-based governance, not governance by assumption.

Read Full Research Context

  • API Quick Start

    Get started with the REST API in 2 minutes

    pip install -r api_requirements.txt
python run_api.py
curl http://localhost:5000/api/documents

    API Docs

  • Install Pipeline

    Install the data pipeline locally

    git clone https://github.com/MissCrispenCakes/DigitalChild.git
cd DigitalChild
pip install -r requirements.txt

    Installation

  • Download Data

    Access pre-generated CSV exports

    • Scorecard summary (194 countries)
    • Document metadata
    • Source validation reports

    View Scorecard

  • Read Research

    Published research and methodology

    • Zenodo DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18318098
    • Stellenbosch Law Review (2022)

    Research Context

Current Projects

  • 🌈 LittleRainbowRights

    Status: Active | Scope: Global (194 countries)

    Child and LGBTQ+ digital rights research tracking 10 indicators: AI policy, data protection, LGBTQ+ legal status, child online protection, and more. Features open-source pipeline, validated data sources, and comprehensive scorecard.

    Presented: 2nd International Conference on Children's Rights (Stellenbosch, September 9-11, 2025)

    Published: DOI

    Vollmer & Vollmer (2025), Zenodo

    Repository: DigitalChild (Python pipeline)

    Full Documentation

  • SGBV-UPR

    Status: Published (2022) | Scope: SADC member states → Expanding globally

    Sexual and gender-based violence analysis using Universal Periodic Review recommendations. Precursor research demonstrating methodology at regional scale. Updating for UPR Cycle 4 and global expansion.

    Presented: International Conference on The Responsiveness of the African Human Rights System to SGBV (September 2021, Session: Diverse Gender Identities)

    Published: Vollmer & Vollmer (2022), Stellenbosch Law Review

    Repository: [HumanRights] Under reconstruction (see project page for details)

    Project Overview

View All Projects

Research Evolution

SGBV-UPR (2019-2022) demonstrated the feasibility of automated analysis of UPR recommendations at regional scale, focusing on SADC member states and SGBV themes. This work was published in academic literature and validated the core methodology.

LittleRainbowRights (2025-present) expands this approach to global digital rights analysis, tracking 10 indicators across all 194 countries with 2,543 validated sources. The project advances the pipeline with comprehensive testing, security frameworks, and reproducible workflows.

What GRIMdata Provides

  • Open Data

    All datasets include authoritative source URLs, validation status, and transparent provenance. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0 for academic and advocacy use.

  • REST API

    Flask REST API with 14 endpoints for programmatic data access. Features authentication, rate limiting, and production deployment. Filter, paginate, and query documents, scorecard, tags, and timeline data via HTTP.

  • Open Source Code

    Complete pipelines available on GitHub with MIT licensing. Modular design enables adaptation for other human rights research projects.

  • Documentation

    Comprehensive guides covering installation, usage, methodology, and standards. Full architectural documentation for researchers and developers.

  • Research Quality

    Security testing, input validation, automated source monitoring, and version control ensure data integrity and reproducibility.

Technology Stack

  • Python 3.12 - Core language
  • BeautifulSoup4 & Selenium - Web scraping
  • pandas - Data analysis
  • Flask - REST API backend (Phase 4)
  • pytest - Testing framework (274 tests: 170 pipeline + 104 API)
  • MkDocs Material - Documentation

All pipelines follow best practices for security, validation, and error handling. The REST API provides programmatic data access with filtering, pagination, and caching.

Getting Started with LittleRainbowRights

The LittleRainbowRights project is ready for use:

  1. Install the pipeline - Setup in ~5 minutes
  2. Quick start guide - Run your first analysis
  3. Access via API - REST API with 14 endpoints (Production-ready with authentication!)
  4. View Scorecard - Browse 194-country dataset
  5. Read the documentation - Complete project overview

Get Started with LittleRainbowRights API Documentation

Use Cases

For Researchers:

  • Systematic literature reviews of human rights policies
  • Cross-country comparative analysis
  • Longitudinal policy tracking
  • Data-driven advocacy campaigns

For NGOs & Advocates:

  • Evidence-based policy recommendations
  • Monitor country compliance with commitments
  • Identify gaps in protections
  • Track implementation progress

For Policy Makers:

  • Benchmark against peer countries
  • Identify best practices
  • Gap analysis for policy development
  • Regional cooperation insights

Publications & Outputs

SGBV-UPR Research:

  • Vollmer, SC and Vollmer, DT. (2022). Global perspectives of Africa: Harnessing the universal periodic review to process sexual and gender-based violence in SADC member states. Stellenbosch Law Review, 33(1), 8–41. DOI: 10.47348/SLR/2022/i1a1

LittleRainbowRights Research:

  • Vollmer, DT and Vollmer, SC. (2025). Queer AI for the digital child: Examining the response to advanced digital technologies on the human rights of LGBTQ+ children in Africa. Presented at the Second International Conference on Children's Rights, Stellenbosch, South Africa, September 9-11, 2025.

Open Source & Licensing

Code: MIT License - Free for any use including commercial applications

Data & Documentation: CC BY 4.0 - Attribution required

This dual licensing ensures maximum utility while giving credit to the research effort.

About the Initiative

GRIMdata is maintained by an independent researcher alongside other work. Both projects represent passion projects aimed at making human rights data more accessible and analysis more transparent.

Maintained by PhD Student

This project is maintained part-time by one person alongside PhD research. Response times may vary. Your patience is appreciated!

Contact & Contributing

Support This Work

  • ⭐ Star the repositories on GitHub
  • 📢 Share with researchers and advocates in your network
  • 🐛 Report data quality issues or bugs
  • 💻 Contribute code or documentation improvements
  • 📝 Cite in your publications and presentations

Making human rights data accessible, transparent, and actionable.