There are a few apps for women safety, and while we cannot quantify how useful they are, they definitely do help women feel safer in a country like India. Delhi-NCR has been in the constant limelight for being extremely unsafe for women and Gurgaon Police wants to change that.
A new mobile app will soon be launched by the Gurgaon Police for Women’s safety in the millennial city. This app is not just restricted to harassment and safety on the roadside and streets, but also at workplace and other large public places. The app will be developed by Gurgaon police with assistance from Gurgaon First, an organisation working towards the improvement of Gurgaon.
This is an excellent initiative for the city of Gurgaon that hosts so many people everyday, especially women. Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar said that the app is the digital way of improving women security in the city, and other initiatives like lighting improvement in Gurgaon, active PCR vans and installment of CCTVs will be undertaken.
This goes without saying that the Gurgaon Police has to be equally responsive in combating harassments and assaults in the city. Gurgaon does not have a very safe environment, even in posh areas, and while resident welfare associations do try to do their best, not all factors get under that umbrella.
Are these apps even helpful in cities like Gurgaon?
Uber was under fire when a harassment case happened with the cab-aggregator and the Government immediately laid out regulations for it to follow. One of these regulations included installing an SOS button for safety.
In specific places like DLF Cyberhub, Sector 29 Leisure Valley and Golf Course Road, that have a line of restaurants and pubs, security should be tightened and safety be made paramount for women. SOS buttons might help, but they won’t be as responsive as one would want them to be.
Furthermore, an SOS button will send information like your location, time of alert and maybe even voice clip of the issue, but it won’t be any helpful if the caller is not able to use the phone altogether. The crimes these days are so violent and quick that the onlooker is not even able to assess the situation.
Unless we realise that safety is not limited to an SOS app, we won’t be able to make Gurgaon a safer place than it is right now. However, the app from Gurgaon Police may be used wisely to connect all PCR vans in case of emergency and help track the criminal down.
