Digital safety audit tools are technology-based solutions that collect data on incidents of sexual harassment or safety audits (where users rate places as safe or unsafe) from transport passengers. This evidence base is geo-tagged, and the maps produced from this data can be used by passengers to make informed decisions related to their journey planning and by authorities to identify problem areas and to tailor intervention approaches [7,8]. It also enables monitoring of the success of interventions over time by doing longitudinal studies. As an additional benefit, the use of mobile apps and text messages effectively allows people to discreetly report incidents of harassment, so that they can more easily do so without fear of retaliation.

Several well-established examples of these tools exist. SafetiPin [2,3,7,8,9] (an app developed in India in 2013) is a map-based mobile phone application that audits a set of nine parameters that together contribute to the perception of safety. The nine parameters include lighting, openness, visibility, crowd, security, walk path, public transport, gender diversity, and feeling of safety. Each audit results in a pin on the specific location where the audit was performed. Every pin is denoted by three different colours depending on the input: red indicates an unsafe location; amber indicates a slightly safer location and green indicates a safe location.

HarassMap [1,5,7,8,9] (a web-based tool developed in Egypt) uses crowdsourcing or collective intelligence to collect information on offences that take place in public spaces, including on or around transport. Via a website, victims and witnesses are encouraged to anonymously document incidents online and the data is then compiled to give the authorities and the public information on hot spots which could be avoided or better patrolled. Additionally, stories are published on social media so there is a better understanding of the types of incidents occurring, and the victims are offered legal, medical, and physiological support.

US-based Hollaback! [6,8,9] is now a worldwide movement to end street harassment, encouraging those who have experienced or witnessed harassment to share their story on the website or via a smartphone app. Users can describe what they experienced or saw; the type of harassment encountered; where the incident occurred and upload these details. These stories are then available for people to read online. This also allows the authorities to see zones where women may be more at risk than others. By documenting, mapping, and sharing incidents of harassment it was found that ‘power’ is shifted to the victim rather than the perpetrator [9].

Safecity [4,5,7] (India) is a not-for-profit foundation. Their website is a platform that crowdsources personal stories of sexual harassment and abuse in public spaces. This anonymous data is aggregated into hot spots on a map, indicating trends at a local level. The idea is to make this data useful for individuals, local communities, and local administrations to identify factors that cause behaviour that leads to violence and work on strategies for solutions.

HarassTracker [10,11,12] in Lebanon is a website tool used to primarily track and document harassment in Lebanon. The data is used to lobby certain political entities for change.