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Safecity

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Safecity, also known as Safecity.in, is a free website that allows anonymous reporting of incidents of gender-based harassment, abuse, and violence, and creates a map that can be viewed and downloaded by anyone. It is available in India, Kenya, Cameroon, Nepal,[1] and Malaysia.[2]

Safecity
HeadquartersRed Dot Foundation
Country of originIndia
Area servedIndia, Kenya, Cameroon, Nepal, Malaysia
Founder(s)ElsaMarie D’Silva
CEOSupreet K Singh
ProductsSafecity CrowdMap, Safecity Data Dashboards, SafeCircle
URLhttps://www.safecity.in/
CommercialNo
RegistrationNot for Profit in India, CIN U93000MH2014NPL259081, USA 501(c)3 organisation, EIN 82-1206435
Launched2012

The website was developed by the Red Dot Foundation after the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh (also known as Nirbhaya).[3] Safecity has used the data collected to advocate for improvements in public safety measures and to increase public awareness of sexual harassment, abuse, and violence.

Development

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After the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh (also known as Nirbhaya),[3] ElsaMarie D'Silva co-founded Safecity with Surya Velamuri, Aditya Kapoor, and Saloni Malhotra,[4][5] to track and map incidents of public sexual harassment, abuse, and violence in India.[6][7] Over the next several years, Safecity grew from mapping Delhi to Mumbai, Pune, Patna and Ahmedabad,[7] and has worked with local communities to organize educational workshops for women and girls.[8]

In 2015, Safecity had collected over 6,000 reports, and began a collaboration with Twitter India to facilitate the sharing of reports from Delhi, Mumbai and Goa by hashtag or direct message.[9]

In 2016, data collected by Safecity showed that public toilets and public transportation were particularly dangerous, including due to poor lighting and maintenance, as well as bystanders failing to take action in response to sexual harassment and violence.[10] Community members used the data from Safecity to advocate for increased public safety measures, including the addition of doors on public toilets.[7][11][12] Police have been able to increase patrols and safety issues, such as lighting, have been reviewed.[13][14] According to D'Silva, the data supports activism, because "You can monitor it, draw trends, and use it in a structured way at a local level, and when people take ownership of their own neighbourhood they feel empowered to take on bigger problems."[7]

In 2017, Safecity data was incorporated into a case study co-authored by D'Silva and published in a special issue of the journal Crime Prevention and Community Safety.[15] As of 2018, Safecity had received over 10,000 reports.[1]

By 2021, Safecity had collected over 25,000 reports.[16] In April 2021, Safecity conducted the #Dhakaldo campaign to encourage bystanders to intervene against street harassment.[16] In 2021, Safecity also partnered with the Bumble dating app, in an initiative called "Stand for Safety" that includes the release of an online safety guide.[17]

Red Dot Foundation

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The Safecity website was developed by the Red Dot Foundation, an NGO based in Mumbai.[18][19][20] Red Dot Foundation founder and CEO ElsaMarie D'Silva previously had a twenty-year career in the aviation industry, eventually becoming a Vice President of Network Planning at Kingfisher Airlines,[21][22] but the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh (also known as Nirbhaya) inspired her to create Safecity and change her career.[3][23]

In her role as CEO of the Red Dot Foundation, D'Silva has engaged in a variety of public commentary, including on social media,[24] as a co-author of an opinion article for CNN,[25] and providing her expert opinion to The Times of India.[26] D'Silva also contributed an essay titled "Dignity and Gender-Based Violence" to the 2018 Aspen Institute publication Development as Dignity: Frontline Stories from Development Experts in the Global South.[27] In 2021, she participated in a panel on the theme, "Socially just transition towards sustainable development: the role of digital technologies on social development and well-being of all" for the United Nations Commission for Social Development.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b Weiser, Sonia (12 October 2018). "Sexual-Harassment-Reporting Apps Help Stop Abuse in Global City Streets". New York Magazine. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  2. ^ Teoh, Ming (7 December 2020). "App to keep women safe from sexual harassment launched in Malaysia". The Star. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Jayakumar, P. B. (8 October 2017). "Bedrock of Safety: The 'Nirbhaya' incident was the trigger that made D'Silva take up women's issues". Business Today. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  4. ^ Maitreyee (1 January 2013). "How safe is your city? Log in to safecity.in". OneIndia. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  5. ^ Jogani, Aashna (25 January 2014). "Meet the faces behind Safecity.in". DNA India. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  6. ^ Agrawal, Parul (23 October 2013). "Mapping unsafe areas for India's women". BBC News. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Young-Powell, Abby (8 March 2018). "Reclaiming the streets: the apps helping women tackle sexual violence". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  8. ^ Borpujari, Priyanka (12 December 2016). "Panic button: how can safety apps for women curb sexual assaults in India?". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  9. ^ Narayanan, Jayashree (10 November 2015). "Towards creating safer cities". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  10. ^ Amritat (23 November 2016). "Not Possible to Rank Cities on Safety for Women: Elsa Marie D'Silva". SheThePeople.TV. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  11. ^ Dharssi, Alia (12 December 2017). "How young women in Delhi are fighting street harassment". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Safecity by ElsaMarie D'Silva maps sexual violence". SheThePeople TV. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  13. ^ "9 ways tech made the world a better place". Economic Times. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  14. ^ Dai, Xiaowen (9 February 2018). "Implementing the NUA - Can we use Big Data to Create Safer Public Places for Girls and Women?". GlobalPolicyJournal blog. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  15. ^ Ceccato, Vania (2017). "Women's victimisation and safety in transit environments". Crime Prevention and Community Safety. 19 (3–4): 163–167. doi:10.1057/s41300-017-0024-5. S2CID 168955229.
  16. ^ a b Kalanidhi, Manju Latha (6 June 2021). "Concerned about women safety? Here's how you can warn ladies about harassers in your city by 'pinning the creep'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  17. ^ India TV Tech Desk (26 March 2021). "Bumble partners with Safecity to offer a safer internet". India TV. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Spotlight: Elsa Marie D'Silva, Founder and CEO of The Red Dot Foundation, India". National Endowment For Democracy. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  19. ^ Sapam, Bidya (31 March 2016). "A crowdsourced initiative for making cities safer for women". LiveMint. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  20. ^ Chakraborty, Riddhi (10 July 2018). "Take the Youth Innovation Challenge to Create a Safe, Inclusive City". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  21. ^ Boyd, E.B. (26 June 2016). "Meet The Entrepreneurs Building The World's Startups". Fast Company. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  22. ^ ThemeXpose. "Making cities safer". www.redelephantfoundation.org. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  23. ^ Gupta, Poorvi (24 February 2021). "ElsaMarie D'Silva: Raging a War Against Gender Based Violence Using Technology". Makers India. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  24. ^ Khandelwal, Tara (22 April 2017). "Meet 30 Women Who Champion Feminism on Social Media". SheThePeople.TV. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  25. ^ Ngumbi, Esther; D'Silva, Elsa (31 December 2015). "Women, it's time to get rid of 'manels'". CNN. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  26. ^ Fernandes, Joeanna Rebello (22 January 2017). "Women only: The rise and times of the modern zenana". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  27. ^ D'Silva, ElsaMarie (2018). "Dignity and Gender-Based Violence". Development as Dignity: Frontline Stories from Development Experts in the Global South (PDF). Washington, DC: The Aspen Institute. pp. 62–67. ISBN 978-0-692-11772-9. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  28. ^ "As COVID-19 Exposes Global Disparities, Closing Digital Gap Key for Achieving Sustained Equitable Growth, Speakers Say as Social Development Commission begins Annual Session". Meetings Coverage and Press Releases. United Nations. Commission for Social Development. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
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