Apps aid women’s safety in public spaces

New web and phone apps in India are helping women stay safe in public spaces, by making it easier for them to report harassment and get help, developers say.

Women are increasingly turning to technology to stay safe in public spaces, in turn helping the police map “harassment prone” spots — from dimly lit roads to bus routes and street corners.

Safety is the biggest concern for women using public and private transport, according to a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey released yesterday.

“Women always strategise on how to access public spaces — from how to dress to what mode of transport to take, timings and whether they should travel alone or in a group,” said Sameera Khan, columnist and co-author of Why Loiter? Women And Risk On Mumbai Streets.

Bridging the gap

The fatal 2012 gang rape of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi put the spotlight on the dangers women face in India’s public spaces.

The incident spurred Supreet Singh of the charity Red Dot Foundation to create the SafeCity app that encourages women across 11 Indian cities to report harassment and flag hotspots.

“We want to bridge the gap between the ground reality of harassment in public spaces and what is actually being reported,” said Singh, a speaker at the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s annual Trust Conference yesterday.

The aim is to take the spotlight off the victim and focus on areas where crimes are committed so action can be taken. An insensitive police reporting mechanism result in many cases going unreported. But apps like SafeCity, My Safetipin and Himmat promise anonymity to women and share the reported data with government agencies such as the police, municipal corporations and transport departments.

“From getting the police to increase patrolling in an area prone to ‘eve-teasing’ to getting authorities to increase street lighting in dark alleys, the app is bringing change,” Singh said.