With the myriad of news alerts that we receive regarding violence against women, it is very easy and also incredibly reasonable to fear going out late at night or to certain places in the city. Violence against women, in the form of catcalls, eve teasing, unwanted sexual encounters, lewd stares are so frequent in our lives that we don’t question them when they happen. It is only when they transgress beyond these in when we pay heed. Womens are not safe in india due to the immense amount of violence against them in public, and this is a time when more and more women are leaving their homes to go to work, to go to school or college or are just leaving the house to have fun with friends. So, it’s important to have a discussion of safety of women in india.
Many women, as a reaction to the news and the stories that they hear about sexual assaults and rapes, tend to alter their habits and choose to remain in the relatively safe confines of their homes when the sun goes down. While this strategy is perfectly reasonable, it is not the most practical as it can dampen your daily activities and may make you dependent on others for key aspects of your day to day existence. Since, it is not ideal, an alternate ways of dealing with this menace must be sought, as this is an issue that affects almost every single women in contemporary India. Fortunately, due to the popularity and immense usage of smartphones, it has become easier to put technology to good use and ensure safety for women and girls. In fact, A lot of these technologies are already being used by the government, and many organizations to ensure that women feel safe on the streets. We have curated some methods ( female safety tips ) that can be used to stay safe for women and girls, while travelling alone or even in groups with this article. This may not only useful for safety of women in india, but also for abroad women as well.
Apps
When travelling alone there are many apps such as Raksha that sends your location to a list of contacts whom you get to choose while setting up the app, and thereby, with the click of a button a distress signal can be sent to your loved ones who can then proceed to help you, or alert the police regarding your whereabouts and the danger that you are in. Safetipin is another app that evaluates the safety of various places during different times of the day, this is helpful when choosing whether to take a particular path or not. It is a crowdsourced application, and thus the data comes from real people (particularly women) who live and know the places. Another useful app is called Himmat that has been developed in collaboration with the Delhi Police. A unique feature of this app, is that when an SOS signal is sent, not only the police be altered but also, an audio recording of the situation is made, which can later be used as evidence against the perpetrator. Whatsapp also has a feature called “live location”, which can be used to update your whereabouts, and select who can access to this information. This way the person to whom you send it will be able to pick up on any unusual activity
Collect Evidence
In case you ever unfortunately find yourself in a situation in which you feel unsafe and are threatened it will be very helpful to make audio or video evidence of the offence if you are in a position to do so. This will help in catching the perpetuator(s) later on and also prevent them from doing further attacks. The audio/ video should be taken discreetly and also any verbal attacks or catcalls can be recorded and used as evidence against them. Nowadays any smartphone has a video recording feature in the camera app, and it can be used for this purpose.
Make Some Noise
Studies have shown that sometimes the best way to mitigate an uncomfortable situation is to simply scream or bring attention to what is happening. It is highly likely that passers for either being motivated by their duty to help another human being or having the guilt that they might feel if they didn’t come to your rescue. Also, it destabilizes the offender as they will be caught off guard, which will help you get away from the situation. If screaming is not possible for some reason, use this app (Annoying Sounds) to play one of its annoying sounds to get attention from bystanders.
Travel in Groups
While this may not necessarily prevent any type of danger that you may in, it will definitely help to reduce it. Most offenders are less likely to attack women when they travel in groups, as they may be outnumbered, and thus will not be in a position of power. In case if one in or the entire group uses the above mentioned technology, then that will help the entire group to be safe and away from the danger.
