Indian Women are now safeguarding themselves with Smartphones
Indian women now have a few tools to strike back against creeps and other harassers thanks to the advent of Internet and smartphones. While only a small percentage of women might have access to these tools, it is nonetheless a precedent for more such safeguards to come.
A new site called Safecity.in collects reports of incidents of harassment from all over the country and plots them on an online map alerting others as well. You only need to fill a simple form about the location and what kind of harassment you faced and it will be uploaded to the site. You can also fill in the information anonymously if you wish. These reports will create “hotspots” of unsafe areas on the map. According to the site, this information can be made use of in the following ways :
- By individuals to check potential safe and unsafe areas.
- By the law enforcement agencies to increase security measures in unsafe areas.
- By local businesses in the hotspots to be more aware and help change the situation.
You can sign up for alerts of the area you are concerned about. The site can also be used to scout out any new area if you plan to head over there so that you can prepare yourself accordingly. You can get alerts by signing up here. The site has also released a mobile app called SafeTrac for Android and other Java supported phones which can be downloaded from here.
Fightback is another such mobile app which is available for a variety of smartphones. FightBack uses GPS, SMS, location maps, GPRS ,email and your Facebook account to inform your loved ones in case you are in danger. You can download it from here.
The Stipator app lets a commuter be tracked while traveling, posting their whereabouts periodically on popular social networks. The posts are secured and are visible to only those whom the commuter has provided permissions to view. You can login using your Facebook account here.
The Mumbai police has also released an Android app called ICE (In Case of Emergency) which can send an SOS message with one touch, provide helpful tips on personal and cyber safety and find the nearest hospitals based on your position using your GPS among other features.
While all these apps have their limitations, they would no doubt provide a modicum of safety to women when in trouble. Especially since the use of smartphones are on the rise and the prices have become quite cheap too. In the end, safety has no price. Do let us know of any other useful apps or sites you may have come across.
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