Women get a fashion & safety accessory

MUMBAI: Women may have safer late-night commutes now. On Monday chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s wife Amruta unveiled a safety device for women which can send warning signals to five pre-determined contacts when activated by a person in an emergency.
Devised by a private firm, the gadget looks like a fashion accessory and is linked to a cell phone through Bluetooth once its app is downloaded. It has a one-press alert button for notifying others.Over a period of time, the device may even be able to alert the police.
“There are many mobile apps with similar services. But in an emergency, an attacker would never allow a person to access her mobile. This device makes access to the app easier,” a source close to the development said. “Help me I’m in trouble” will be the SOS message along with the Google map location of the person, date and time, that will go out to five contacts preset by the person. The app will also update the person’s status on Facebook, with an SOS. Though attached to phone, device can be operated by a victim even if the handset is snatched by attackers.
“It is very convenient to carry, like a key chain. In an emergency, if the user presses the switch without even touching the smart phone, it sends five SMSes and five mails to their family members, with SOS messages,” said a person attached to a firm which developed the device, ‘ArmHer’.
Speaking on the occasion Amruta said: “Safety of women is paramount and has been a cause for concern. The alarming increase in cases of gender violence in the recent past makes products like this a must for every woman. I’m happy to be associated with such an initiative and hope such initiatives can keep the women safer.”
“The next phase would involve tying up with the police control room,” an official with the firm that developed the device said.