If you were walking alone and suddenly started to feel unsafe, what would you do? Would you pull out your phone to call a friend or head for the nearest brightly lit and heavily populated street? Every woman I know has thought about her escape plan if she ever found herself in an unsafe situation, because the sad reality is that almost every woman knows what it feels like to live in fear of violence and harassment at the hands of men. 

The very real threat of violence against women and girls is far from just anecdotal. Research from UN Women UK and YouGov suggests that 97% of women aged 18–24 have experienced some form of street harassment, while around 1.5 million women become victims of domestic violence each year. These levels have long been called “epidemic” and “a threat to society on the same scale as terrorism”, so as the government forges ahead with its pledge to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade, it has been suggested that technology – from apps mapping street harassment to virtual support networks – could play a crucial role in prevention and support for victims. 

According to Vodafone, whose free app BrightSky is designed to help people identify abuse, document incidents and access specialist support, three in four women have already relied on their smartphone to escape an unsafe situation, and 42% feel more comfortable accessing support online or via their phone. 

Whether through WalkSafe+, a free personal app that uses crime statistics to plot safer routes and allows users to report incidents of harassment to highlight high-risk areas, or new platform HASSL, which aims to address the root causes of street harassment by improving reporting mechanisms and providing victims with a supportive community, practical tools and recovery resources, it’s clear that many believe these technological innovations could play a key role in women feeling safer on the streets. It’s an idea that has caught on globally, too. HarassMap was set up in 2010 to map street harassment in Egypt, while Safecity was founded after 23-year-old student Jyoti Singh Pandey was raped and fatally assaulted on a bus in Delhi in 2012. 

In a situation where so many of us feel at our most vulnerable, these apps can provide an essential service. “On average, a survivor will experience 50 incidents of abuse before they get effective help, and this is partly because survivors face immense barriers when trying to seek support,” explains Phoebe Crowder, global digital programmes director at Hope after Harm.

These apps can be a game-changing intervention for the women who use them, like Gail*, who uses Epowar, with which users can record evidence of incidents and share journeys with trusted contacts. “I was at a friend’s, and she said the classic, ‘Let me know when you get home safely,’ but now I use the app to ensure I do,” she explains. “I shared my journey with my mum and my friend. Now, I don’t have to sit on the phone; I just know someone’s there watching, aware of where I am. It’s not just giving me comfort; it’s also giving my family that comfort.”

“My sense of control increased because I knew people were tracking my location,” she says. “When you call 999, dialling and explaining your situation takes time, but you don’t have the privilege of time in these situations. The app fills that gap because a simple phone tap triggers an alert. The system provided a safety buffer before the situation escalated.”

But these apps aren’t just enabling us to combat, record and prevent street harassment; technology is also being developed to eradicate VAWG within households, too. Other innovators are founding platforms that can help women escape abusive situations before they escalate, like family lawyer Laura Mounsey, who is developing an as yet unnamed open-source platform to support women to identify abuse and guide them through the steps of seeking help when an abuser’s influence leaves them feeling incapable of making choices for themselves. “I just can’t sit across from people who feel like they can’t do anything anymore because I’ve experienced what that was like,” she shares. “Often, it’s not the law that doesn’t have protection for them, it’s that they can’t reach out and grab it. I’d like them to be able to use the platform as a crutch.”

Jackie* is a survivor of domestic violence who relied on technology to support her recovery after finding a safe home to rebuild her family’s life. “Once I understood I was being abused, I put a lock on my phone so I felt safe to use it to look for support,” she says. “I also began secretly recording conversations with my ex using a recording device because I was so distressed during exchanges that afterward my memory was sometimes impaired, making it easier for him to gaslight me.”

While it has the potential for good, it remains true that technology is a double-edged sword. For one, the prevalence of technology-based abuse is undeniable; one Women’s Aid survey revealed that one in three women in the UK have been harassed online. Mounsey is among those who are concerned that technology can often be more problematic than beneficial. “In my work, I tend to come across three things all the time: cars being used as tracking systems, surveillance being used around the house and phones being used to abuse,” she explains. And while potentially life-changing tools for the prevention and eradication of VAWG are being developed, technology and social media continue to inflict harm, particularly with companies like Meta rolling back hate speech rules, which will expose marginalised groups to higher levels of abuse. 

Clearly, while technology cannot be the silver bullet we need until we stop allowing perpetrators of abuse and harassment to wield it as a weapon, domestic violence charity Refuge hopes that as a society, we can reverse the tide by using it to protect instead of harm. “In the hands of a perpetrator, technology can be weaponised against a survivor or victim,” says Emma Pickering, head of technology-facilitated abuse and economic empowerment. “However, when used correctly and as intended, it can vastly improve our lives and even play an essential role in preventing VAWG. While tech-facilitated abuse can have devastating effects, we must be clear that technology alone is not to blame.”

Exercising caution while advancing technology that genuinely helps women is essential, meaning we must build technology that considers safety at its core, whether it’s an app designed to prevent street harassment or technology aimed at helping women recognise domestic or narcissistic abuse. But herein lies a further issue. To make that happen, app founders and tech developers need money to advance their work, yet funding for women-focused tech is abysmal. In 2022, out of all investments in the UK, only 2% went to female-founded companies.

Though it is yet to announce funding for any of these ventures, the government, in its plan to halve violence against women in a decade, has embedded domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms in five police forces and introduced measures to tackle spiking and protect stalking victims. The government will publish its VAWG strategy to tackle the root causes of abuse later this year, which promises to include confronting “underlying behaviours held by some men and boys”. 

But let’s be clear: no amount of clever technology will mean that VAWG disappears overnight. Yes, it may offer tangible solutions to facilitate escapes, provide support and record crucial evidence, but the onus should never be on women to safeguard themselves. The future of women’s safety may lie in harnessing these digital tools, but they can’t be relied on to end VAWG unless the abuse being carried out using the same tools is eradicated. 

VAWG begins and ends with the cause and perpetrators of all forms of harassment, violence and abuse against women and girls: misogyny and men. So no matter how advanced it may get, technology can only do so much until men are held responsible for their actions and play their part in eradicating it. 

*Some names have been changed to protect their identity

Images: Getty