Circle of Six aims to stop rape
When Vice President Joe Biden鈥攁 longtime opponent of violence against women鈥攁nnounced the Apps Against Abuse technology challenge in 2011, Brooklyn, N.Y.,-based filmmaker and activist Nancy Schwartzman knew she had to respond.
Never mind that she had never created an app or written a line of code in her life; a firmly held passion for reversing rape culture and the fact that report sexual assault was motivation enough.
The app invites users to designate six friends as their 鈥渃ircle鈥� of people from whom they can seek help when in trouble. With one tap, users can send a text requesting to be picked up (complete with a GPS tag), ask to be interrupted with a phone call, or say they need to talk about issues of abuse in their relationship. It also provides external hotlines and resources for those experiencing or wanting to stop abuse.
When the team鈥檚 creation originally won the White House challenge, it was intended for college-aged females in the United States. But when the Indian press devoted significant coverage to the app in the midst of a brutal gang rape of a 20-year- old New Delhi woman, Schwartzman noticed Indian downloads went from a few hundred to several thousand.
With India鈥檚 terrible record of addressing sexual assault鈥攊n 2012, in New Delhi alone resulted in only one conviction鈥擲chwartzman saw an opportunity to adapt the app for a specific audience.
Thus, nearly a year after the app鈥檚 official launch and in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the US, the Circle of Six app has launched a New Delhi-specific version. The localized version is translated into Hindi and provides local hotlines and resources for users to reach with one tap. Schwartzman is also in talks with Mexican health officials to launch a localized version in Mexico City.
The design and utility of the app is meant to challenge some commonly misheld notions about rape and violence, such as the idea that "stranger danger"鈥攐r rape by an unknown individual鈥攊s the main threat.
鈥淚 was always really looking at sexual assault between people that know each other鈥攁t work places, dorm rooms, spring break.These are gray-area experiences that are certainly violating to women, but not treated that way by the courts or the media.鈥�
The app鈥攚hich now has 55,000 downloads in 26 countries鈥攊s designed to give women an 鈥渙ut鈥� when they are in an environment where sexual advances may be socially acceptable (while at a house party or working at a bar, for example) but can still feel uncomfortable or threatening.
Instead of wondering 鈥淲hat do I do? Who do I call? Where am I? Should I walk home?鈥� the app takes those variables out of the scenario and embeds them in one鈥檚 phone. Females aren鈥檛 then forced to wonder 鈥渨ho will come pick me up at 4 a.m.?鈥� because they鈥檝e already asked friends ahead of time to be part of their 鈥渃ircle.鈥�
Even though her app mostly addresses issues relating to acquaintance rape, Schwartzman believes that all forms of violence and harassment against women are related and thus the solution must be holistic鈥攁nd most importantly, it must include men.
鈥淭he fact that it鈥檚 just a given that any urban park will empty out at dusk of women鈥攁nd that if you don鈥檛 accept that as a woman you鈥檙e 鈥榓sking for it鈥欌�攊s insane,鈥� she said. 鈥淐ircle of Six gives men the opportunity to be accountable to someone by being part of their circle, to help to stem the tide of rape culture, and to call out bad behavior when they see it.鈥�
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