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General Overview

Type of stakeholder

EICS Framework

Region of Reference

Africa
Asia
Australia
Europe
North-America
South-America
World

Description

Though fear of sexual harassment, assault, and violence has affected women across the world, there has been a lack of reporting and recording them.

Safety and security apps can be employed to record/report incidences, collate information on these incidences, and start awareness for engaging women to report and address sexual harassment in public spaces and on public transport.

Facts/Illustrations/Case studies

In late 2016, Plan International in Melbourne launched a campaign, and a web-based interactive map ‘Free to Be’ was made live (Kalms et al., 2017). Over a three-month period, women could comment on how safe and welcome they felt in spaces all over the city by dropping ‘pins’ on the interactive, geo-locative map of Melbourne and its suburbs. In total, around 1,000 women participated and 1,318 pins were dropped that were either green (marking happy places) or red (marking sad places).
In India, there are Apps that women can download on their smartphones and use in case of emergency to alert their family or other loved ones. Some of them include Safetipin, Raksha, Himmat (especially for working women and only available in Delhi), Women Safety, Smart 24x7, Shae2Safety, and bSafe. Many of these apps can send alerts without an internet connection. Some of these apps also allow for geo-tagging of places as safe or unsafe to make safety improvements as necessary.
WhatsApp has been useful in the sphere of women’s safety in Indian cities. The Delhi Police has created a WhatsApp number wherein women in Delhi can send photographs of auto-rickshaws or taxis they board. The details are forwarded to the police control room and preserved for a week. More importantly, the WhatsApp group is integrated with the control room so that in case of an emergency, the nearest police control room or mobile patrolling vehicle can rush to the spot.

Types of Impact

To/from the stop/station/rank✓
Waiting for train/bus/paratransit✓
In the vehicle✓
At interchanges✓

This intervention impacts all areas in the transport network.

Day-time travel✓
Night-time travel✓
Peak-time travel✓
Off peak-time travel✓

All travel time categories could be positively impacted by this intervention.

Bus✓
Train✓
Rideshare✓
4 wheelers informal✓
3 wheelers informal✓
2 wheelers informal✓
Cycling✓
Walking✓

All modes of transport can be affected by this intervention.

Girls✓
Boys✓
Adult Women✓
Men✓
Elderly Women✓
LGBTQI+✓

All public transport users will be positively impacted by this intervention.

Resources

Monetary Resource Requirements
Both capital and operational costs are low if the operations are built into the ongoing programmes targeting the security of women in public spaces. Access to digital services is not just about access to mobile devices, smart phones, or even internet connectivity. It is also about digital literacy. In many developing countries, disparities in digital literacy (as well as basic literacy) are an important hurdle in women’s access to smart solutions and services.
Capital Cost Requirements Operational Cost Requirements
Non-Monetary Resource Requirements
The non-monetary resources required are first and foremost the political will to establish a system which can record and respond to the data being collected on the safety and security apps. Some skills and time are involved in implementing such app-based solutions.
Skills Time Political Will

SWOT Analysis

Scalable to suit wide range of budgets
Rollout can be fast and effective
Stable technology with much experience to learn from globally
Possible to map incidences

System is only effective if those receiving the messages via these Apps are adequately trained and have the capacity to record and respond appropriately
Less effective in the context of informal transport without number plates and recognition identity

Reduction in criminal activities more broadly
Can aid existing law enforcement agencies to exercise their mandate more effectively and efficiently
Can be used as a mapping tool for place, time and types of incidence occurence

In larger cities with extensive transport networks, a large no. of incidences being reported can be difficult to follow up
If proper follow-up is not undertaken and reported to the general population, trust in such systems will quickly diminish

Effectiveness

This is a low-cost method that can prove to be very effective provided a network of information sharing and response mechanism is set in place. Registering and creating a database of the complaints being received for places, routes, modes, etc. can assist in creating heat maps and identifying the trend with respect to spatiality and temporality. Low level of confidence in these ratings if immediate action is not undertaken and noticed by the general public. But high confidence if security personnel is trained to record and respond. Varies depending on the type of App. Low level of perception of effectiveness (by female passengers) if immediate action is not undertaken and noticed by the general public. Varies depending on how frequently the data is being used being used to inform ongoing or future projects and programmes. But as a generic rule, medium to a high level of confidence perception of effectiveness (by governing bodies) as they generally tend to equate establishing a system as being equal to being an effective system.

Perception by (female) passengers
Perception by governing bodies
Level of confidence in these ratings

Implementation

This requirement can be introduced with immediate effect – the benefit remains so long as the requirement remains in place.

Implementation timeframe

0-1 year✓
1-3 years✕
>3 years✕

Timeframe to realise benefits

0-1 year✓
1-3 years✕
>3 years✕

Scale of Implementation

National

Regional

City

Station or
Suburb

Ease of Implementation

Relatively easy to implement. Linking notifying protocols through WhatsApp is quite easy. But the follow-up at the receiving end of these messages / information is what needs to be bolstered.