Indian Tech Firms Working on Apps for Women’s Safety

By R. Jai Krishna

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

A protest calling for safety of women in New Delhi, Dec. 24, 2012. 

The recent gang rape and death of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi has sparked a search for technological innovations that can be used by women to alert authorities of a threat to their safety.

Nasscom, a trade group that represents Indian technology companies, Thursday announced a contest to develop such applications, saying it aims to get companies to focus on areas such as safety for women.

This came just a day after a government-appointed panel recommended the development of downloadable mobile phone applications that can help women in trouble, such as a one-touch function which can send a distress signal and the location of the phone to the police.

The committee — headed by former Chief Justice of India J.S. Verma — was set up by India’s home ministry on Dec. 23, one week after the gang rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, to propose legislative changes to make women safer.

The Nasscom contest, which is open to software developers, corporates and students, will shortlist the winning applications. These will then be shown to Nasscom members, who may choose to adopt the applications.

Vikram Talwar, chairman of Nasscom’s forum for business processes outsourcing companies, said that some similar tools are already available.

“But this contest will primarily be done within the industry to focus on this issue of women’s safety, people will be recognized for it, there will be a jury that will look at it. And hopefully we can then share these apps with other parts of the economy,” Mr. Talwar said at a Nasscom press conference Thursday.

Mr. Talwar is also chairman of ExlService Holdings Inc., a New Delhi-based and Nasdaq-listed business process outsourcing company.

In early January, India’s Mahindra group responded to the rape case by making a phone security software application free for all.

The FightBack application, developed by a Mahindra group company – CanvasM Technologies Ltd. – features a panic button which sends the user’s location as well as pre-set messages to previously selected contacts.

Nasscom has been very vocal about the need to ensure the safety of women, with the December gang rape in Delhi bringing back memories of a 2005 incident which shocked India’s booming IT industry.

In 2005, a taxi driver brutally raped and killed a 24-year-old Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ -0.30% employee in Bangalore while she was headed home after a late shift.

The incident led the industry to quickly implement a strict set of rules to ensure that female professionals who work late at call centers are well protected.

This was crucial as more than 30% — or about 800,000 — of the employees in India’s software and services industry are women. In the business process outsourcing industry, the number is as high as 50%.

The “BPO Code of Conduct” listed several steps that organizations need to take to ensure the safety of staff while they commute to office, such as the selection of security and transport personnel, as well as ensuring security within office premises.

Nasscom on Thursday released what it said was a compendium of the “best practices” that are followed by various Indian software and IT services companies, which the trade body said can be adopted by other industries as well.

Follow India Real Time on Twitter @indiarealtime.

India War on Its Women By Suketu Mehta TIME, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013

Every Indian media outlet has a name for her: Amanat (Treasure). Nirbhaya (Fearless). Braveheart. India's Girl. She can't be named, but she bears the name of every woman in India.

If she had been allowed to live, she would have been a paragon of the progress Indian women are making. She was studying to be a physiotherapist. She was the only person supporting her rural family. She was going to marry a software engineer in February. She was 23. She was, for God's sake, only 23. But she lived — and has now been cremated — in Delhi.

Every one of my female friends who's visited or lived in New Delhi has a story about the men there. Christine from Paris was walking in Connaught Place, the heart of the city, with her mother. Christine is an anthropologist who wanted to show her mother, who was in India for the first time, what a wonderful country it was. A man came up to them and thrust his hand between Christine's legs, grabbing her crotch. He laughed and sauntered off. "My mother had to watch this," Christine said, weeping. But she knows that Indian women — especially the poor and the low caste — suffer worse.

New Delhi isn't the only Indian city where bad things happen to women, but it has a special reputation. Perhaps it's the political corruption that transforms into moral corruption; perhaps it's North Indian machismo; perhaps it's the skewed sex ratio — 866 females for every 1,000 males, because many girls are killed at birth by parents who'd rather have a son. The numbers bear it out: New Delhi has more rapes than Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad put together.

All over the country, the gang rape has galvanized Indians into an agonized national discussion about how badly we treat our women. But some of the proposed solutions are wildly off the mark. Internet forums seethe with demands for the death penalty for rapists. Given the promptness with which Indian police round up the usual suspects in any high-profile case, this would result in many innocent men being hanged. "Enforcement is more important than a new law," pointed out the victim's fiancé, who was attacked with her.

The way the country deals with sexual assault has to change at the most basic level: at the police stations where rape is reported, in the doctors' clinics where the victim is examined and in the courts where the victim is cross-examined.

Many doctors still use the "finger test," in which they penetrate the rape survivor with one, then two fingers. The medical report will note such things as the "laxity of the vagina": the implication is that if it is lax, so are the woman's morals. If two fingers can enter her vagina, the report might say she has been "habituated to sexual intercourse" — a term that the defense will use in questioning her credibility. No wonder that three-quarters of rape prosecutions end in acquittal. Although the Supreme Court has ruled that the finger test cannot be considered as evidence, it is still used in many states.

Most women in that part of the world stay clear of police stations for their own safety. A friend, an influential filmmaker, told me about what happened when he reported the embezzlement of a large sum by his accountant. The accountant had fled town, so the police arrested the accountant's sister — who had not been involved in the crime — to put pressure on her brother to surrender. When my friend went to the station, the officer in charge told him that the sister was in the lockup and invited him to "do what you want with her." Fearing for her safety, my friend had a man from his office sit at the station day and night, guarding her from the police.

The rot begins at the top. Six sitting members of state legislatures have been charged with rape; two members of Parliament and 36 state legislators have been charged with crimes against women. In the 2009 national elections, political parties fielded no fewer than 40 candidates who were charged with rape or other crimes against women.

The country seems to have had enough. There are silent marches, candlelit vigils. There is outrage in the papers, on television. Thus did people gather after the 2008 terrorist attacks here to demand better security; thus did people gather in 2011 to protest corruption. This is the third massive wave of protest, and this time it's to demand the most elementary respect for India's 591 million females. But can it be sustained?

"Here's the bottom line," said Barack Obama about gun control. "We're not going to get this done unless the American people decide it's important." About fighting rape in India, here's the bottom line. We're not going to get this done unless the Indian people decide it's important.

Mehta is the author of Maximum City and a journalism professor at New York University

The Top Ten Things Every Woman Should Know about Personal Safety

Written by Darren and Beth Laur

Have you ever felt frightened or intimidated when out walking alone? Have you ever wondered what you should do if approached by an attacker? Have you ever worried about becoming yet another home invasion statistic?

The sad reality is that we live in an increasingly violent society in which the fear of crime is ever-present. Personal safety has become an issue of importance for everyone, but especially for women.Concerned about this state of affairs, Sgt. Darren Laur and his wife Beth Laur began teaching self-defence classes and safety seminars in 1993, and have since reached thousands of women. The demand they saw for reliable safety information, coupled with the need to debunk widespread myths regarding self-defence measures, convinced the two experts to write a book.

The following points are ten things that every woman should know about personal safety, and are covered in the Laurs’ newly published book, Total Awareness: A Woman’s Safety Book:

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1. Awareness: Your first line of defence. Most people think of kicks to the groin and blocking punches when they hear the term “self-defence.” However, true self-defence begins long before any actual physical contact. The first, and probably most important, component in self-defence is awareness: awareness of yourself, your surroundings, and your potential attacker’s likely strategies.

The criminal’s primary strategy is to use the advantage of surprise. Studies have shown that criminals are adept at choosing targets who appear to be unaware of what is going on around them. By being aware of your surroundings and by projecting a “force presence,” many altercations which are commonplace on the street can be avoided.

2. Use your sixth sense. “Sixth sense.” “Gut instinct.” Whatever you call it, your intuition is a powerful subconscious insight into situations and people. All of us, especially women, have this gift, but very few of us pay attention to it. Learn to trust this power and use it to your full advantage. Avoid a person or a situation which does not “feel” safe–you’re probably right.

3. Self-defense training. It is important to evaluate the goals and practical usefulness of a women’s self-defense program before signing up. Here are two tips:

a) Avoid martial arts studios unless you specifically wish to train in the traditional martial arts techniques and are prepared for a long-term commitment. Many women’s self-defense programs teach watered-down martial arts techniques that are complex and unrealistic under the stress of an actual attack;

b) The self-defense program should include simulated assaults, with a fully padded instructor in realistic rape and attack scenarios, to allow you to practice what you’ve learned.

4. Escape: Always your best option. What if the unthinkable happens? You are suddenly confronted by a predator who demands that you go with him–be it in a car, or into an alley, or a building. It would seem prudent to obey, but you must never leave the primary crime scene. You are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured if you go with the predator than if you run away (even if he promises not to hurt you). Run away, yell for help, throw a rock through a store or car window–do whatever you can to attract attention. And if the criminal is after your purse or other material items, throw them one way while you run the other.

5. Your right to fight. Unfortunately, no matter how diligently we practice awareness and avoidance techniques, we may find ourselves in a physical confrontation. Whether or not you have self-defence training, and no matter what your age or physical condition, it is important to understand that you CAN and SHOULD defend yourself physically. You have both the moral and legal right to do so, even if the attacker is only threatening you and hasn’t struck first. Many women worry that they will anger the attacker and get hurt worse if they defend themselves, but statistics clearly show that your odds of survival are far greater if you do fight back. Aim for the eyes first and the groin second. Remember, though, to use the element of surprise to your advantage–strike quickly, and mean business. You may only get one chance.

6. Pepper spray: Pros and cons. Pepper spray, like other self-defence aids, can be a useful tool. However, it is important to understand that there can be significant drawbacks to its use. For example, did you know that it doesn’t work on everyone? Surprisingly, 15-20% of people will not be incapacitated even by a full-face spray. Also, if you’re carrying it in your purse, you will only waste time and alert the attacker to your intentions while you fumble for it. Never depend on any self-defence tool or weapon to stop an attacker. Trust your body and your wits, which you can always depend on in the event of an attack.

7. Home invasions: A crime on the rise. The primary way to prevent a home invasion is simply to never, ever open your door unless you either are certain you know who’s on the other side or can verify that they have a legitimate reason for being there (dressing up as a repair person or even police officer is one trick criminals use). In the event that an intruder breaks in while you’re home, you should have a safe room in your house to which you can retreat. Such a room should be equipped with a strong door, deadbolt lock, phone (preferably cell phone), and a can of pepper spray or fire extinguisher.

8. Avoiding a car-jacking. Lock all doors and keep windows up when driving. Most car-jackings take place when vehicles are stopped at intersections. The criminals approach at a 45-degree angle (in the blind spot), and either pull you out of the driver’s seat or jump in the passenger’s seat.

9. A travel tip. Violent crimes against women happen in the best and worst hotels around the world. Predators may play the part of a hotel employee, push their way through an open or unlocked door, or obtain a pass key to the room. As with home safety, never open your door unless you are certain the person on the other side is legitimate, and always carry a door wedge with you when you travel. A wedge is often stronger than the door it secures.

10. Safety in cyberspace. Although the Internet is educational and entertaining, it can also be full of danger if one isn’t careful. When communicating on-line, use a nickname and always keep personal information such as home address and phone number confidential. Instruct family members to do the same. Keep current on security issues, frauds, viruses, etc. by periodically referring to “The Police Notebook” Internet Safety Page.

TIPS FOR HANDLING BOGUS PHONE CALLS

They may say that their car has broken down and they need to phone someone for help. They may pretend to be a workman, saying that they need to check your electricity or water. They might even claim to be from the council and that they are carrying out a local survey. Whatever reason a caller gives, you need to be sure that they aren't just trying to get into your home to steal something.

There are around 12,000 incidents of "distraction burglary" each year, where callers get into homes and then steal cash or valuables while the occupier is distracted in some way. Sometimes they work in pairs, with one doing the talking while the other is stealing and they often target the elderly.

Be on your guard every time the doorbell rings, or there's a knock at your door. Look out of your window to see who's there first and if you don't know who the person is, open the window slightly and talk to them that way, rather than opening your door. Alternatively, have a viewer fitted in your front door so that you can take a good look at who's there first. If your eyesight isn't so good, don't worry as you can now get wide-angle viewers to help you see better.

Put the door chain or door bar on before opening the door and talk through the gap. You could even fit a small mirror to the wall next to the door so that you can easily see the person you are talking to. When the caller has left and you've closed the door, don't forget to unhook the chain so that any friend or relative you have given a key to can still get in.

Make sure your back door is locked if someone knocks at your front door. Sometimes thieves work together with one coming in the back way, while the other keeps you talking at the front.

Keeping the chain on the door, ask callers from the council or any other organization to pass through some identification. If you need your glasses to check this don't think it's rude to close the door and go and get them. A genuine caller won't mind. If you're still not sure, ask the caller to leave and tell them to write and make an appointment so that someone else can be with you the next time they call. The basic rule is if you don't know the person at your door don't let them in.

As part of the Government's "Stop, Chain, Check" campaign, local councils, social services and Age Concern centers have further information they can provide to older people. They can also help with door viewers, chains and mirrors, and in certain circumstances, may be able to supply a personal attack alarm that connects through to a control center.

A Free Guide to Women's Self Defense and Self Protection

Self defense and self protection are an important priority for women. The most common crime to happen to a woman is rape, but it is more about a feeling of dominance from one person over another rather than actual sex. According to statistics, the majority of rapes are perpetrated by men who women know. Assault on women is also a common crime because assailants assume women will be more passive and not fight back; this has to do with stereotypes of women. The best way for women to fight back against crime is to prevent it from happening by avoiding being alone or being in badly lit areas. However, getting into such situations is sometimes inevitable.

The majority of rapes occur in the victim’s home. According to the Bureau of Justice, almost 40 percent of all rapes take place in the female victim’s home. In the event that rape prevention fails—such as by avoiding problem areas or making sure a woman is never alone—the best chance for survival is to fight back. Fighting back is not just necessary, but it is a moral right because protecting one’s self is paramount. The rest of the article will discuss why self defense is important, some tools and techniques for effective self defense, and information on gun use.

Why Self Defense is Important

Self defense is important because statistics say that all women are good candidates to become victims of violent crime at any point in their lives. According to statistics, a woman who is only 21 years of age has a 25 percent risk of suffering violent crime in her life. Self defense is more than just okay. When a woman's safety is in danger, defending herself by fighting back is the most ethical decision she can make.

• Justification for Self Defense by Women Empowerment Group

• Importance of Self Defense for Women

• Rape Statistics on Women

Why Women Are At Risk

Some women find themselves at a greater risk for becoming the victim of either serious assault or murder. Even though women are targeted, the overall point is that their needless victimization could have been prevented. Even women who perform the necessary steps to stay alive—such as getting a restraining order, hiding, and filing criminal charges—still end up dead. Therefore, avoiding any violent attack is better that attempting to survive one.

• Reasons Women are Targeted for Certain Crimes

• Statistics of Crimes Against Women

Crimes

In general, there are several crimes that women are most at risk of. They are rape, carjacking, purse snatching, stalking, threats, domestic violence, and crimes against children in their protection. With each type of crime, women need to realize that they don’t have to give up and surrender to it or endure it. Up until the last second before the crime actually occurs, women usually still have the power to make decisions that can profoundly affect the outcome.