Tired of walk the streets afraid of the next “fiu fiu”, young women have been turning to technology to combat sexual harassment. Application a “wearable computer”, inventions come by joining a legion of admirers who come to donate large sums to see them working.
“The statistics of violence against women are frightening, and became Clearly anything that existed in the market were tools that women really needed, “said Yasmine Mustafa, chief executive of the company Roar for Good.
The company created the Athena a gadget the size of a coin that, when triggered, sends known to claims. To be carried in your pocket, the device also emits a noise to ward off possible offenders.
After spearheading the movement “Come Together?”, Which encourages women to go together to fend off harassment, Gaucho Babi Souza, 24, wants to take the idea to the world of mobile phones. With the help of a company, it develops an application that will serve as a kind of “Waze abuse”
In it, women are invited to report threats encountered by paths that run -. The lack of illumination men that often beset the street. Thereafter, when a route is mapped, possible itineraries will be accompanied by harassment sources held. The expectation is that the app comes to Android and iOS phones in January 2016.
Another initiative is the São Paulo student Catharina Doria, 17. She used the money to pay her graduation trip to fund the creation of “Sai Pra there.” The app maps the manifestations of sexual harassment against women, honk the physical contact.
support
After debuting the first week of November, “Ease up cuz “it was flooded with hits, which overloaded their servers. At rush hour, around 18h, received 250 submissions. To improve the app infrastructure, Catharina started a crowdfunding campaign on the internet. With 54 days to the end, has raised 112% of the initial target of US $ 5000.
The Athena is also developed with money raised online. A little more than ten days to the end of the campaign, the project has received five times the prescribed amount of $ 40,000. “We wanted to create something that meets the needs of the modern woman while it was a tool against abuse,” Yasmine said.
Harassment
In general, all ideas emerged after women faced with cases of sexual violence or face the fear of being the next victim.
After hearing many women tell stories of abuse on a trip to South America in 2013 Yasmine returned to Philadelphia (USA), but violence knocked on his door. “A week after returning home, a woman in my neighborhood was brutally raped just one block from where I was living,” he said.
You Babi tired of getting apprehensive when walking alone through the streets on a day it came out of late night work. “I thought, ‘Bah what the fuck a woman, it’s time to go home, and instead of you be happy, is afraid to be late.’”
Catharina was called “hot” by a much older man, who said he wanted to take her home. She did not answer, but led the hassle of having done nothing home. Four months later, the application was launched.
It is not enough
Although resort to technology, the developers believe that create applications or devices is not enough effort. “Definitely, technology has potential to help focus on these issues. While devices like the Athena are able to help stop attacks and get help instantly, it does not address the root cause of abuse and violence, “says Yasmine.
The Roar for Good, allocates a percentage of the money raised from the sale of appliances for organizations working in the youth awareness. A tenth of the money collected in crowdfunding campaign on “Indiegogo” site goes to the One Love Foundation, which is dedicated to creating education programs to end domestic violence. “Our goal is that devices like the Athena one day no longer need. Until then, we will do everything we can using the technology to help reduce abuses, “said Yasmine.
creator of the” Come Together? “Turned to crowdfunding to create a portal of information about what It is feminism.
For Catharina lead to discussion of violence against women to the digital world does not solve the problem. “The question is this: technology is enough? It’s like a seed. For a small plant grow, you have to irrigate with water. In this case, the water is education. We’re just trying to prune the situation. The application makes us map the harassment and then the institutions put poster, put more light, talk to the faculties. But the right thing would be education from an early age:. Man be made aware from tiny he can not do this “
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