The 2011 party in central Israel turned gloomy when a woman was blamed by two men in a side room. Then her friends turned, worrying about her absence. The attackers fled.
It was a time of numbers strength that inspired one of the friends, Neta Schreiber, to develop SafeUp, an app that allows women who feel threatened or dangerous to call for help from subscribers other.
3 צפייה בגלריה
A woman will be showcasing the SafeUP, a women’s safety net application, at a collaboration space in Tel Aviv
(Photo: Reuters)
Launched on Sunday in Tel Aviv, at which its city technology lab was developed, SafeUp was able to provide ideas for cities like London, where there is eviction and murder of a pedestrian March 3 Sarah Everard urges public demands for better countermeasures.
In addition to allowing a woman in distress to share her living space with a list of contacts she provides in advance, the app can locate and connect a phone via audio or video to volunteer female “defenders”, up to 500 meters (0.3 miles) away.
If the woman or the “defenders” – who receive training with SafeUp in the legal and psychological aspects of emergency intervention – believe the situation is an imminent threat, they can contact the police through the app, which taps into the phone’s camera and microphone to record evidence.
For less extreme situations, nearby “defenders” can go to the scene to help.
“We are aiming for a response time of five minutes,” Schreiber told Reuters, adding that when a harassed woman was using SafeUp at the time of the test, she was confirmed by two “defendants” ”Enough to shake off his abuse.
The app, which can be downloaded for free, has also helped stop domestic violence, she said, although “defenders” do not enter private homes.
While Tel Aviv is considered relatively safe in terms of violent crime, the women have welcomed the new app.
Some 4% of women in Israel have experienced sexual harassment and 0.3% have experienced rape, rape or attempted rape, the Central Bureau of Statistics says. About 45% of women who are victims of violence or threats of violence file complaints with the police.
“I will definitely use it,” said Lital Herman, 33-year product manager, of SafeUp. “Personally, I feel very safe in Tel Aviv, and I usually don’t go very late at night. But if I do, I have my own dog and if I feel that I need another companion I will definitely use this app. “
The Naamat women’s movement praised the app’s launch as an important step in the overall campaign to stop violence against women but said: “Start-ups and technology transfer in women’s safety service are not all-inclusive clear and final., and not all murders, assaults or harassments can be prevented by technology. “