Safety Catch

For Whypoll Trust,started by two journalists Hindol Sengupta and Shweta Punj,the app is an extension of their efforts to make Delhi safe for women. From July this year,the NGO surveyed around one lakh people in Delhi over three months,using the traditional questionnaire and the online medium,to gauge their perception about the unsafe areas in the city. The entire exercise was based on crowdsourcing,and not on official statistics. They were inspired by a similar survey in Cairo,Egypt,on sexual crimes against women in that city,called Harassmap.org. The result of the survey has been projected on to a “Virtual Unsafe Map”,the first map of its kind for Delhi,or for that matter any Indian city.

Partly based on the map,the app is activated in two parts. One,when a person is passing through a “troubled” area and activates it,the location status is displayed on social networking profiles such as Facebook or Twitter,so that friends know where the person is at that moment. The GPS-enabled app consults the database on the safety perception of the area and also issues a warning to the user in an unsafe zone. The second part is the SOS message that is sent when one is in trouble. The user pre-programs five mobile numbers to whom the SOS is sent. Else,it can also be a combination of numbers and a message on one’s Facebook or Twitter profile. Recipients will immediately know that the user is in trouble. The SOS message is activated even if the phone is locked. “In February when we were ideating on the next application to be developed,the topic of women’s safety came up. We thought it would be appropriate to work on a technological deterrent. A lot of thought has gone into making it fool-proof,considering the situation in which it will be used,” says Sirisha Voruganti,chief technology officer,CanvasM,which is developing it primarily as an individual application to be launched on Whypoll’s website.

“The idea is to provoke action,both from the administration and the community. For example,Paharganj,the hub of foreign tourists,is ranked high on the top 100 unsafe places in the city. If hotels there come together and help in changing the perception,it is good for them and for the tourists,” says Punj. The map is already being used by the World Health Organisation in security drills for their employees. The survey will be done every three months and the map updated. The objective is not just to reach help,but also to encourage women to start reporting cases of harrassment to the police.

The app,however,will come at a price. “It will not be free as our experience shows that something given free is not valued. Pricing it will ensure that it is used effectively,” says Voruganti. The price point will,however,be below Rs 100. “Even though it is tailored for the individual,we are looking at customising it for BPO companies and similar firms who have women employees travelling at night,” says Voruganti. In the initial stages,it will only be available for smart phones. “We will gauge the response and then work towards developing versions for lower-end phones,” says Voruganti.

The idea has found resonance before its launch. Komal Aneja,22,a student at Amity University says,“God forbid,if something happens,at least our family and friends will know that we are in trouble and do whatever they can to help us,provided the app works the way it is supposed to.”

(With inputs from Ananya Bhardwaj)