 One of the first things many of us do in an emergency
situation is text our loved ones, but what if we can't?
Often, in instances of attacks, abduction, and other
violent acts, the impulse to reach for our phones subsides
to the impulse to defend ourselves, and scarcely in
such situations are victims even able to access their
phones. Thankfully, numerous developers and organizations
have found ways to put texting to use to help victims
of violence, whether or not they are able to reach for
their phones.
One powerful use of texting to combat violence is the
work of Xin-Chi Chin, a young Malaysian woman who herself
survived a violent attack and kidnapping attempt by
two men in 2012. Chin teamed up with friend James Khoo
to develop an app called Watch Over Me, which uses accurate
GPS tracking to monitor a user's location for a period
of time that the user sets before entering a potentially
dangerous situation. Watch Over Me allows users to upload
pictures or videos relaying information on their situation
and can type out relevant notes, and if they do not
tap a button informing the app that they are safe when
time runs out, Watch Over Me sends a text message alert
with all of the details it gathered during that time
to their loved ones.
If that's not enough, Watch Over Me also allows users
to simply shake their phone to trigger an emergency
text alert to loved ones, and to enable video recording
of the attack. The app also stores data on crime by
location, and will send a text message to a user if
they are entering a high-crime area to alert them of
the crime level and encourage them to opt to be watched
over while there. Since the app's launch in 2013, it
has gained 140,000 users worldwide, most of whom so
far live in Southeast Asia, where the app was designed
and is best publicized.
Watch Over Me is a brilliant and powerful use of texting
because, much as texting is an instant and accessible
mode of alerting a loved one of danger, it's unlikely
that victims will think to use their phone conventionally
in a fight-or-flight emergency situation, let alone
be able to. It takes advantage of all of the capabilities
of a mobile device, and uses not only invaluable shortcuts
to make them accessible even in the case of an attack,
but programming that responds to an attack even if the
user is unresponsive or robbed of their phone.
While Watch Over Me is unique for its ingenious hands-off
response system, it is not the only use of texting to
help and support victims of violence. Text to Change
(TTC) has partnered with Bolivian organization Casa
de la Mujer, which aims to improve women's quality of
life, to establish a campaign called Moviles para Mujeres.
Moviles para Mujeres acts both as a subscription service
and an emergency alert system, sending texts to subscribers
bearing notice of their legal rights as well as advice,
motivational words, and information regarding any group
meetings, and allowing victims to report acts of domestic
violence rapidly and easily.
In the U.S., the non-profit Polaris Project is tasking
SMS to help dismantle human trafficking. The Polaris
Project has recently added a text messaging option to
their National Human Trafficking Hotline, which facilitated
over 1,500 conversations by text in its first full year.
This option constitutes a very important development
for human rights in that it has expanded the possibilities
for victims of human trafficking of all sorts to seek
help, and has made anonymous tip reporting faster and
easier.
Using texting as a primary mode of this sort of violence
prevention allows victims to reach out to a generally
younger crowd, among whom texting is more popular. This
can make many victims, especially the large portion
of younger victims of attacks and violence, feel more
comfortable reaching out for help. While this difference
may seem trivial, a victim's comfort with their situation
and their agency is personally important and should
not be overlooked. It also holds practical significance;
finding a mode with which victims are most comfortable
can affect their feelings about their prospects for
help as well as their likelihood to seek that help.
Texting may open more avenues by which to respond to
violence not only for young adults, but for children
in particular. In the sub-Saharan country of Togo, the
initiative Plan Togo is also using texting to help children
who may become victims of violence. Plan Togo, which
aims to support vulnerable and marginalized youth of
Togo, has launched a workshop in which children are
trained to send a text message using frontline SMS should
they suffer abuse or other violence to the website of
Ushahidi, a partner of Plan Togo. This information is
checked and verified, and is used both to ensure that
the victims receive the support they need and to map
instances of violence in Togo.
Texting has had many significant uses, but the use
of SMS to help people remain in or find safety surely
stands as one of the most important. Texting is not
only a daily convenience, but a powerful force for good
worldwide.
About the Author -
Sharon Housley is the VP of Marketing for NotePage,
Inc. a software company for communication software solutions.
http://www.notepage.net
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How Texting Is Helping Victims of Violence Across the World