Apps that make women brave


 You can’t have peace in a world which doesn’t have gender equality,” avers Kirthi Jayakumar, women rights activist and, founder, The Red Elephant Foundation (REF), as we talk about their global initiative — Project 21, which will be launched on September 21, marking the International Day of Peace — in collaboration with Safe City. “This is an initiative that has been thought through to end violence against women and girls by creating stronger bystander intervention systems around the globe,” she shares.

It was a personal experience in May 2016 that pushed Kirthi to do something that would go on to  benefit women around the world. In this case, in 196 countries through the creation of Saahas, an app that allows survivors of gender based violence to find help and resources. “I woke to about 31 WhatsApp calls and a few messages from a friend, who stayed in London. She was in an abusive marriage and is a survivor of harassment. She had not travelled beyond Tamil Nadu, and for her to be isolated and in trouble in London was a tough situation. She didn’t know whom to trust and ask for help,” she narrates.

Eventually, she tried reaching out to Kirthi and few other friends in India, but was left without help. “It was late at night. We were asleep and couldn’t respond. She managed to get into a shelter after that with some help and got in touch with her family here,” she recalls.This is when Kirthi realised the need for people in vulnerable situations to have a platform to access information and get resources that will provide timely help.....Read more

 

Source web page:New Indian Express


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