Return home safely: a new app and the other ways to make women feel more peaceful

There is almost never time to dwell on a story or a face that immediately goes on to another, and then another and again, in a succession of names of Women killed for possession, grudge, hate.

With the passing of the days of the year the number of femicides It rises, as well as that of the violence, which according to an investigation carried out by the EU would concern one in three union throughout the union since the age of 15.

Only sexual Education since childhood can probably reverse the china but the changes require decades and then in the meantime it is necessary to think about how to protect themselves, also through technology, or rather an app.

The last in order of time designed with the aim of helping women, but not only, to feel safer in contexts in which they are not or do not feel there is Recall. Conceived by the current CEO Marcello Di Donato, a victim in the past of an episode of violence that has strongly marked him, has the ambition to protect personal security by resting on the affective network of the person who uses it.

Available for free for iOS and Android, using it is very simple: once the first step is recorded Select your Recallerwhich can be at most five, modifiable over time and depending on the needs. Friends, family, colleagues, it doesn’t matter, as long as it is obviously trusted people.

Two features of the app. The first, called Stand by Me, allows you to share in real timethrough an interactive 3D map, your position with Recallerfor example when you are in an unhealthy place or in a situation that does not make you feel calm.

Just a click or A sudden movement of the device Then to activate the mode Help medesigned for situations of conclaimed danger, that It triggers a sound alarm that immediately alerts their trust contacts, even if their phones are in silent mode. At the same time the app shares a series of crucial information: the exact position, the battery status and audio recordings in real time, encrypted and saved in cloud. These data, stored safely, can be used as proof in any judicial contexts, thus transforming the smartphone into a real digital “black box”.

But Recall is not the first app designed for this purpose. For a couple of years it has been possible to download for free Viola, evolution of direct Instagram with which in 2021 the Association Womenxstrada Founded by Laura de Dilectis, she began to deal with women’s safety in public places. The app allows users to do video calls with specially trained peopleavailable to accompany virtually on routes that are considered unwrited.

The service is available in 4 languages (Italian, German, English and French), 6 countries (Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium and Switzerland), H24, 7 days a week. To access it, just download the app and click on the special button clearly visible to start the video call to which the first available operator will reply. As an alternative to the video call you can also be accompanied in chat mode.

Viola also offers geolocation which, in case of need, allows law enforcement to intervene in a timely manner.

And who is not too accustomed to technology? There is no problem: in many cities there are Similar but physical services. Like the one offered by Custodaeactive on Milan where every day from 19:00 to 03:00 a team of volunteers physically accompanies In a chosen place who requests it, on foot or with the car. To book, just go to the site, click on the desired option and wait for the volunteers to present themselves in the indicated place. To create this sort of escort service at zero cost (the on foot service is free while for the car there is a small refund for fuel) was Flavio Perrone, with the ambition to help people move free from fears in a city that according to the Sole 24 Ore was the one with the largest number of crimes in Italy in 2023.

Strongly desired by the deputy mayor of Bologna Emily Clancy and financed by the Municipality is instead Nightan active service in the Emilian capital from Thursday to Saturday between 22.00 and 3 at night.

Also in this case The street host specially formats accompany on foot who requests it in the desired place. These volunteers can be contacted via Instagram, Telegram or stopped on the street, where they are easily identifiable by the clothing worn: fuchsia cloaks or blue sweatshirts with the writing night boiling clearly visible.

All these initiatives, which over the years have been growing hand in hand with violence against women who show no sign of decrease and the perception of insecurity which instead, on the contrary increaseif on the one hand respond to an emergency, on the other they are not free of criticism, or simply reflections, regarding the message that, in different ways and measures, is the basis of each of them: It is the woman who had to deal with her own security.