As more and more women enter the workspace and balance the skewed ratio of female employees, it is imperative to make the workplaces as well as their travel safer. While Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act takes care of any unwanted event, their travel too needs to become safer as deserted roads have often become the spot for gruesome crimes against women. Here are some companies that are working relentlessly to ensure that women get safe spaces, wherever they are and ultimately flourish in their chosen field.
Mirasys India:
Mirasys India is a market leader in video surveillance and analytics. In collaboration with Intel, they are pioneering a safer world for women by leveraging technology to safeguard and empower them in public settings. The Mirasys Women Safety Solution, powered by artificial intelligence, combats occurrences that target women in public places, colleges, and other comparable settings. It gives real-time, actionable data to improve safety immediately. Mirasys (India) incorporated the Intel® Distribution of OpenVINO™ Toolkit, improving surveillance capabilities with powerful artificial intelligence technology. To better comprehend occurrences against women in pedestrian zones, the Mirasys Women Safety Solution employs on-site sensors and cameras. It uses advanced analytics to categorise photographs based on gender and gesture, offering insights for women’s safety. It functions as a deterrent, protecting women’s safety in public settings through real-time detection and prevention.
Meta:
Meta is making the online world a safer place for women and has established new policies, products, and programmes to better support the women who use their applications with the assistance of Women’s Safety Hub and the development of their Global Women’s Safety Expert Advisors, a group of 12 nonprofit leaders, activists, and academic experts. The Women’s Safety Hub gathers all of the safety resources that women require when navigating Meta platforms. It provides materials for women leaders, journalists, and abuse survivors. The portal, which was created in collaboration with nonprofit partners around the world and is available in 55 languages, offers video on demand safety training as well as a way to register for live safety training events that will be held in various languages. It also developed technology to counteract the spreading of non-consensual intimate photos, which has been an increasing problem in modern times.
She’s Birdie:
Amy Ferber and Alison Peters founded the firm, which manufactures personal safety alarms in a variety of colourful, candy-like colours. When the device’s top is removed, an alarm and a strobe light are activated. The alarm may be reused as many times as needed and hangs from a keychain, making it easy to attach and carry. This alert is designed to draw attention to you in a circumstance where you want people to notice what’s going on. She’s Birdie launched a new subscription-based business and live safety features in 2022. The new gadgets include Bluetooth connectivity, which enables real-time location monitoring and 24-hour call assistance. Users can press a button to communicate their location to contacts of their choice, stay on the phone with a support specialist, or even initiate a phoney call to assist them depart uncomfortable situations more quickly.
Hera Global Tech:
Hera Global Tech, founded in 2017 by Poorvi Mathur, addresses the issue of women’s safety through personal safety products and solutions created with the user and community in mind. The originator founded it in reaction to the current increase in sexual assault and abuse, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, USA, and a presence in Bengaluru. The company’s first product, ‘Autonomous,’ is a wearable device and accompanying phone app that uses emerging sensor technology to intuitively recognise high-risk scenarios based on physiological and personal responses and alerts the wearer’s identified contacts or community of their whereabouts. It does not require a button press or a phone call – it is an instinctual reaction.
FightHer:
Silvy Kalra, a former journalist, had her fair share of late nights and moments of terror while travelling alone in Delhi. Every time she returned home late at night, she felt a nagging terror. This prompted her to start a series of self-defense lessons in her neighbourhood, as well as her non-profit FightHer, which works to ensure women’s safety in the city. Trainers teach techniques such as how to defend against a knife attack, how to defend if attacked from behind, where to hit and run when attacked, how to defend with basic kicks, knee defence, shin kick on the lower leg, while also using easily available props. The goal of FightHer is not just to teach self-defense, but also to boost women’s confidence so that they are more prepared in the event of an attack.
