‘Safetipin’ app against eve-teasers in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi will no longer be unsafe cities for women. For, they will be protected by ‘Safetipin,’ a map-based mobile application. As part of making public places safe, the SAKHI women’s resource centre has held a safety audit in these two cities through ‘Safetipin’ developed by entrepreneur Ashish Basu and activist-researcher Kalpana Viswanath of Jagori, a women's resource group based in New Delhi.

The app has analysed data gathered on various aspects such as infrastructure, transportation, role of police forces and feeling of safety in 1,600 safety audits in the two cities. The main objective of having the app on one’s mobile is to identify the police aid posts and know whether there has been a precedent of eve- teasing or exhibitionism by miscreants in the area which would be available on the mobile beforehand. The app can be downloaded free on Apple and Android platforms and also from Google Play Store.

The findings of the project, which was launched in July, would be released by SAKHI in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday in the presence of deputy commissioner of police Ajeeta Begum, former DGP Jacob Punnoose, and senior town planning and city corporation officials.

The audit team consisted of 15 students each from Loyola College of Social Sciences, Thiruvananthapuram, and Sacred Heart College, Livelihood Advancement Business School and Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam. “Though ‘Safetipin’ is still an ongoing project in New Delhi, the primary report indicates that it has been successful for women to safeguard themselves and seek assistance,” Ms M. Anna, project co-coordinator of ‘Safetipin,’ told DC.

SAKHI coordinator Mercy Alexander opined that the major setbacks in the cities were inadequate lighting, poor pathways, unavailability of security personnel, lack of open areas and spaces without heterogeneous mix of people. There have been instances of security personnel themselves resorting to eve-teasing. The study is relevant for the urban town planners to address gender discrimination in public spaces where there has been a spurt in eve-teasing in the metro cities. In the capital city alone, 750 spots were safety audited.