The Sustainability Challenge for Inner City Safety in Johannesburg

Johannesburg inner city, although less than 130 years old, presents as tired and over-burdened. Developed and evolved as a thriving business hub, the city centre is now home to an estimated more than 500 000 people. The population is multi-cultural and multi-lingual and there is tension amongst widely varying nationalities. Johannesburg Child Welfare (JCW), an NGO that delivers essential outreach services n in the inner city, initiated a project almost three years ago, using the Social Transformation System™ (STS) methodology, to mobilise a collaborative approach to achieving a “best life” for young inner city women and children. The methodology facilitates the drawing of an inclusive, shared transformative spatial and social vision.  Participants agree to an intuitive benchmark starting point or current status and commit to appropriate skills, capacity and resources to move the whole towards this vision.

The project has recruited more than 60 partners since inception; key among these is the Regional City Management of Joburg, including the political office responsible for the area. Other partners range from NGOs and CBOs to Resident Associations and local Businesses. The project is site bound and includes two heritage sites – the Old Drill Hall and St Mary’s Cathedral, both rich in their historical links to the Apartheid struggle.

JCW delivers programmes at the Old Drill Hall to young women, and offers play programmes for children. The area around sites is chaotic. Taxi ranks receive and dispatch over 22000 taxis every day, disgorging 500 000 people into the environment. The streets and pavements are heavily congested and traders, both legal and illegal contribute to constant noise and jostling as well as throwing waste into already clogged storm water drains and gutters. Women suffer endless harassment, thuggery and worse; there is minimal respect for law and order and few places for women to turn when victimized. In the STS visioning process, women aspired to an inner city in which they could walk safely, dress as they pleased, sustain a livelihood and enjoy leisure activities during the day and in at night.

Using the vision as a long term “destination” against which to measure progress, partners in the project initiated a collaborative strategy to improve accessibility, mobility, health and safety of the users of the sites. They did this via a combination of advocacy, urging and supporting all relevant departments of the City to clean and maintain the area and enforce by-laws, and by integrating their efforts to deliver preventative and support services to their users.

Last year on World Aids Day this day, the area was cleaned up and there were real signs of progress. This year however, things had regressed and grime again characterized the precinct; women reported that they were fearful as they walked through the streets and the surrounds of the Cathedral are quite revolting from use as a toilet. The Drill Hall precinct was awash with litter. Clean-up programmes and by-law enforcement campaigns had dwindled in the face of lack of interest of the majority of the ever changing, always conflicted, incoherent “community” that makes up the inner city dwellers. The women delivering essential support and psycho-social services to women in the inner city said they feeling threatened.

The lessons for the partners are hard; for every step forward, there seem to be two backwards. In as much as it is hard to rally and sustain action amongst the protagonists, they continue to strive towards their goals of a safer inner city and a best life for all.

The crucial missing link however is sustained community commitment to this vision. Women are reluctant to participate, often hiding away from formal engagement, many because they are undocumented and fear reprisal, either for themselves or often, for their children. There is a desperate need for collective ownership of place and agency to bring dignity and peace to the inner city. Perhaps where survival takes precedence over all else, it is too much to ask that kindness, respect and love should guide behaviour and create an environment that protects the vulnerable, nurtures the young and supports the achievement of all.

The STS is premised on the knowledge that complex problems have no simple solutions – and that while they obviously demand collaborative approaches, these are difficult and require above all, resilience. The methodology provides for fully participative longitudinal assessment and inclusion in planning and decision-making based on lessons learned.  The partners will regroup in the New Year and try again, this time with an even greater emphasis on mobilizing inner city “communities” to participate in new behaviours that will benefit them all. The key to sustainable safety for the women of the inner city however, remains elusive.

AUTHOR: 

Barbara Holtmann is a feminist who uses her Social Transformation Systems methodology to harness the voices, skills, interests and capacities of women in community safety and development strategies.

Source…. www.safetipin.com

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Call for Internships at Safetipin 2015

About

SafetiPin is a map-based mobile phone application which works to make our communities and cities safer by providing safety-related information collected by users.

The organisation works to promote safety of women and has since its inception created a technology platform to address the urgent issue of safety in cities across the world.

Safetipin’s team has done ground breaking work in collecting large scale safety data from 12 cities in the world and have successfully used this data for advocacy. We work with the leading women’s oganisations in India and partner with them to bring change.

Purpose of Internships:

We encourage applicants from skilled and motivated young people to serve as interns at Safetipin. The purpose of the internship is to provide an opportunity for individuals to substantively contribute to and learn from our work in the area of women’s safety,

technology and urban planning. The intern will be given specific tasks and responsibilities and will be challenged to develop their capabilities and gain experience.

The intern is expected to be flexible and to take part in various activities at the office and sometimes in the field.

Requirements:

We expect applicants to have at least a first degree; and Masters degree students are encouraged. We are looking for interns who are committed, hard-working, positive, open-minded, reflective and willing to learn. At any one time we expect to host between

two to three interns. Internships are open to everyone. We will seek to find a balance by hosting people from

a diversity of interests, backgrounds and experiences.

Time Commitment:

Generally 1-2 months, to be mutually agreed

Conditions:

Internships are on a voluntary basis, and no payment is provided. In some cases, travel costs may be reimbursed. Shared office space will be provided in Gurgaon.

Application procedure:

Send a cover letter explaining your motivation and a description of what you hope to achieve during your internship at Safetipin. Specify your main skills and interests and relate them to our thematic areas of work. Also specify the requested internship period

/ dates.

Applications must be submitted via email to rashee.mehra@safetipin.com

Deadline for the submission of applications is 20 May 2015.

See More Details...http://goo.gl/4kgmIu

IHE Safety Audit Report

Safetipin and the students of Institute of Home Economics at the University of Delhi undertook a

project to conduct safety audits in the college’s neighborhood. The students of the Department of

Human Development began the semester long initiative by first building a perspective on Gender

and Mobility in the ambit of social justice. The students then had a training session on how to

conduct safety audits using the Safetipin App.

The students were then asked to create routes around their college where safety audits would be

conducted. Several safety audit walks were conducted in the Hauz Khas, Green Park, Siri Fort, IIT

Delhi area. The findings from the audits were then compiled into a report using the analytic engine

of Safetipin. The report was released on the 16th of April 2015 by Dr. Kalpana Viswanath the Co-

founder of Safetipin and Satinder Singh the SHO of Hauz Khas Police Station in the presence of the

Principal, faculty and students of IHE.

The report documents the condition of the infrastructure around the college in detail and makes

several recommendations on how the area can be made safer for students and the larger

community. The exercise of closely inspecting their college campus and their city has allowed the

students to build valuable perspective on gender, mobility and urban planning. The Safetipin team is

excited to work with other colleges and universities to carry out similar programs.

Website : - Family Tracker and Personal Safety App for Women

Google Play Store : - Personal Safety App For Women

I-Tunes Apple Store : -  Personal Safety App For Women

HOW SAFE, IS ALONE?

Before I start with this one, I’d like to apologize for my tardiness. The last few months have been incredibly busy- examinations, mastering the game of table tennis, training my hyperactive dog- made it impossible for me to sit down and think.

The idea for this article in fact, came to me while I was in the process of doing, not thinking. After two months of sleeping under tomes of legal knowledge, research and  Statutory Acts, I decided to celebrate the end of the semester by watching Avengers : Age of Ultron. Scheduling conflicts made it hard for me to go with any of my friends and at 22 going on 23, I refused to take my parents for a superhero flick.

This left me in a bit of a dilemma. Miss the movie or risk going alone? Logically, I’m sure even your brain considered the question, Why don’t you go alone? Which is exactly what my brain volunteered.

The irony is that, the simplest answer, is also the hardest. You see, in a country like India, the idea that a woman can go out alone for leisure, is quite abhorrent. A girl does not simply decide to go visit some famous monument alone. A girl does not go out to dinner, alone. And in a country where rape, street harassment and gender-related violence are common, a girl does not go out for a movie, to sit in a dimly lit movie theater, without a familiar person on either side of her, alone.

If you live in a country where the rate of violence against women is high, then I’m sure my words will resonate with you. One of my guy friends said to me the other day, somewhat defensively, that not all men are rapists. But whether a stranger is a rapist or not, is not what rules our behavior. It is the fear, that a stranger might be a rapist, that rules.

Fear is probably what caused my parents to issue a firm negative when I suggested that I might go alone. It is quite possible that they have spent far more time than I have watching the news about brutal rape cases, incidents of abuse, molestation and public assaults on young women (like the girl who was stripped and groped in public by 30 men, or the teenager who was molested in a bus in front of all the passengers and then thrown off) which has played a huge role in my parents’ mental conditioning. With an only girl child, I can understand that safety would probably be rated #1 on their priority list with fun standing at #10. I wasn’t too sure myself, having been a victim of street harassment and sundry other cases which have made me anxious, unsure and under-confident about being out and alone.

To counter the opposition, I put forward the following arguments to my parents.

a) It was going to be a daytime movie. b) I was a safe driver c) It was pretty close to home. When that didn’t wash, I made the following promises : a) I’d send an “I’m OK” text every few hours. b) I wouldn’t drive through back alleys or dingy places on the way c) I’d stay alert the whole time.

After what felt like a million years, my parents agreed. It had a lot to do with my age, and the fact that my track record is pretty sober (when I say sober I mean I’m a non-drinking, non-smoking, non-sex, non-everything-fun, boring child who’s idea of going wild is usually a good book and some iced tea).

To sum up the evening, it was wild. Yeah, really. I drove by myself. I parked by myself. I got the tickets from the kiosk by myself. I didn’t trip on the escalator. I watched the movie with my purse firmly tucked under my chin, a pepper spray within reach under the zip, and my eyes scanning the hall every few moments (which is hard when you’ve got on 3D glasses). I even peed by myself and bought popcorn by myself. It’s funny how many of us have gotten used to a guy doing all that for us (not the peeing part obviously). It’s either the Dad or the Boyfriend or the Best friend who gallantly accompanies us and brings us snacks and makes us feel safe. It was incredibly liberating to do all of that on my own, and it got me thinking, how many independent women want to do all those things : go for a long run, shop, drive, go to clubs, meditate in parks, sit at conventions, sip a latte without stopping under street lamps when it gets dark, looking over their shoulders, gripping pocket knives, avoiding eye contact, or feeling those pangs of anxiety every time a stranger stares too long or makes a sudden move.

–Jane Austen

Thankfully, there are women who do it better than I. Many of my friends are single, working, independent women who have gotten by impressively well, all on their own. But how? How does one after having heard such frightful tales of harassment, after being cautioned and curbed for most of one’s life, suddenly become self-sufficient? I asked these women the same and we came up with some things you should can keep in mind :

#1 There is absolutely no way of overstating the importance of safety gadgets. A pepper spray, a taser-gun, a pocket knife. An Indian remedy is also chilly powder. Chose your weapon. Always carry one with you.

#2 You can carry your phone and charger with you. A dead phone is a dead ally in emergency situations.

#3 Avoiding eye-contact is crucial. Most women who go out believe that this can help in drawing less attention.

#4 Keep people at home informed about your movements. When traveling by taxi or rickshaw either call someone in front of the driver or pretend to.

#5 Although fear and anxiety are common, use the adrenalin to make yourself more observant and prepared.

#6 When traveling over long distances, knowing that you’re likely to be in isolated areas, wear less revealing outfits. (This might raise a few feminist eyebrows, but most women believe that provocative outfits make them more of a target. If you agree, you can wear clothes that are more on the comfortable side, allow free movement and are less on the stylish side.)

#7 Always note down the registration number of the mode of conveyance you take. Text it to your friends or family. Traveling by public modes of transportation is always preferable.

#8 If your area has the reputation for being unsafe, then prudence would demand that you always go out with someone rather than alone. This might rankle a bit, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

#9 Try and stick to groups of women or families when you’re out in public places. They’re usually loud, chatty and safe.

#10 The city you live in is paramount when it comes to making decisions about independence. Is it a city like Delhi? Where the crime rate is obscenely high? Or is it  a city like Pune? Where it’s mostly safe and the people are civil?

#11 Guts are essential. If you do find yourself in a situation where someone threatens your safety, be loud, belligerent and aggressive. Draw attention to the man. Make a scene. Offenders usually count on fear paralyzing you to the point of silencing you. Never forget to raise your voice.

#12 And finally always be alert. There are moments when you can get lost in what you’re doing, or be deep in thought, or be in a hurry. But these moments cannot happen while you are alone, unaccompanied and unsafe. By keeping your radar tuned to suspicious behavior you can save yourself a great deal of regret.

Perpetrators often point to things like women being alone or being dressed indecently as reasons why they should be raped, harassed or molested. The general idea, is that by having the audacity to assert our independence, we are asking for it.

We are asking for something.

It also starts with an R.

But it’s not RAPE.

It’s RESPECT.

Source...Safetipin.tumblr.com

The Thing About Sexual Harassment In India

A few days ago, I met some of my friends for dinner. We were three guys and two girls, and it was arranged that the guys would drop the girls on the way back. As we drove back, the topic somehow got around to that of ‘eve-teasing’ (an exceedingly innocent-sounding term, but let’s not digress) perhaps because it was 9:30 p.m. and an ‘unsafe’ time for girls to take a bus back home.

One of my friends (let’s call him Arvind) remarked, “But all that happens in the North only and that too rarely. Not here in Bangalore.” I was taken aback. Deciding that he was feigning ignorance in order to rile me up, I said, “You know it happens everywhere and every day. Don’t pull my leg on something like this.” He continued in that matter-of-fact way, “But it doesn’t happen here, and definitely not to not-so-good-looking girls.” Now he was definitely teasing me with that second bit. However, his body-language and confidence while stating everything else made it amply clear that this poor chap was completely oblivious to both how rampant eve-teasing is and also to the thought behind it.

Still, it was unthinkable- that these guys, living with mothers and sisters, and surrounded by female co-workers and friends, had not a clue about such a prevalent problem. So I gave him one last chance. I said, “Wait a minute, do you really not know or are you pretending? Be clear now, no jokes.” To which he said, “What? Dude, these things don’t happen in Bangalore- Bangalore is safe. They only happen in the North. In places like Delhi.” The other two nodded their heads in agreement. I was shocked. Shocked that three men, born and brought up in a city, educated in a city, working as IT professionals, reading the news daily, my friends and most importantly, surrounded by women with whom they spend time, talk, work and eat, were so out of touch with reality. They had no clue!

I proceeded to give them a comprehensive talk about how they had no business being so ignorant about something that, for all they knew, the women in their own families had faced. How was it possible that these guys were so oblivious? How was it possible that they were so confident about eve-teasing being something one only read about in the news? How did they equate it with being something only ‘pretty’ girls faced?

So here I am, explaining some things that need to be known about sexual-harassment in all its forms. This is for all those men and women out there who think they know what the state-of-affairs is like in India, but don’t. Unsure if you’re one of them? Read on anyway. You never know what you may learn.

1. This happens all over the country:

There are no exemptions. No exempt states, or exempt social strata, or exempt age-brackets, or exempt kinds-of-women. It happens in villages and also the most cosmopolitan of cities. It happens at schools, and also at high-flying workplaces. Everywhere. Don’t assume.

2. Every woman you know who lives in India, has faced sexual harassment:

A reckless claim, you think? Here, try this. Ask the next woman you meet today whether she has ever faced any kind of sexual harassment in her life. She’ll probably have more than one incident. And I do really mean the next woman you meet- it could be your boss, you mother, your sister, your friend, your wife, your partner, your teacher, your grandmother. Ask, I urge you. In fact, here’s something even better. Gather all the women at your workplace, or at home, or at any gathering, and pose them with this question. Ask how many of them have not faced harassment of any form. See if even a single hand is raised.

3. Harassment has nothing to do with lust and everything to do with violence:

Leching, making lewd passes, groping and more- all these are forms of intimidation and power-display born out of an urge to control, demean and show victims ‘their place’. Which is also why ‘dress sense’ and ‘looks’ and ‘time of the day’ have nothing to do with how safe a woman is. Women wearing astronaut suits or sarees are as likely targets as those wearing shorts. Women perceived as being plain are as likely targets as those perceived as being beautiful. Women going to work at 10:00 a.m. in the morning are as likely targets as those getting back from it at 10:00 p.m. Sexual and consequently, mental harassment is perpetrated either by males who are threatened by females wielding free-will, or those who think that females are usable objects.

4. Harassment is harassment. There is no ‘big’ or ‘small’:

We seem to think that only rape is an unpardonable crime. But assault, is assault. Non-physical harassment like staring, whistling, passing comments and making lewd sounds also do damage. The exact same mindset is at the root of all these kinds of harassment, and as mentioned above, it is that of violence and control. Imagine being stared down by a bunch of people as though you were naked. Or your crotch getting stared at with a violating look reeking of objectification and disrespect. There is nothing normal or acceptable about leching and lewdness.

I’m hoping that this removes those blinkers (probably unintended) from around your eyes, and makes you aware of what’s happening around you. And that you won’t be so blatantly ignorant of one of the most prevalent crimes in society today.

Source...http://goo.gl/9a1bgA

UBER NAIROBI AND SAFETIPIN PARTNER UP TO PROVIDE SAFER RIDES FOR UBER USERS

Uber Nairobi, has announced it is working together with map-based mobile safety app, SafetiPin, to bring the best in class safety to its users.

Uber announced the partnership earlier today.

“By working together with SafetiPin on this cross-border initiative we hope to provide local communities with the technologies to enable them to travel more safely around their cities,” Kaitlin Freedman, Operations Manager, Uber Nairobi said in a statement to TechCabal.

Uber and SafetiPin collaboration was born in New Delhi, India, and the pilot project rolled out in the same location on February 25. The aim is to cover approximately 20,000 KM of city roads and areas.

“We are delighted to have Uber’s participation and support in key cities around the world. This association will provide us with a much larger data set that would otherwise not have been possible,” said Ashish Basu, Founder of SafetiPin.

SafetiPin collects data of locations based on parameters that together contribute to the perception of safety by measuring actual location conditions in order to generate a safety score for an area. The information is supplemented with comments and photographs from real users and trained safety auditors.

Sources...http://goo.gl/fovMUY

We need more women in public spaces for an equal society

Pink autos, pink taxis, pink signages in the metro — when did pink become the colour of Indian women? Indian women wear a range of vibrant colours. The pink-blue divide is a recent western import.

But the broader question is: Do we need pink autos and taxis? Would this ensure safety of women? Will separate spaces for men and women ensure safety? In fact government schools in Delhi are all segregated. There is no evidence that this leads to greater safety. If boys and girls from a young age are not given the opportunity to interact with each other in a healthy and normal atmosphere, every interaction becomes fraught.

I certainly see the benefit of having more women drive autos, taxis and buses, work as bus conductors, work in petrol pumps, in general be visible in public places. Having more women circulate in public spaces is good because safety audits have shown that having more women in public spaces makes the space safer for everyone. Both men and women find gender-diverse spaces safer.

A park used by men, women and children certainly seems safer than one which is male dominated. So the government should create the conditions whereby more women are able to move freely in public spaces. The Delhi Transport Corporation recently publicised that they have their first woman driver. They must now find ways to not only encourage but make it a priority to have more women as drivers and conductors. While women-only spaces such as the women’s compartment in the Delhi Metro must not be seen as the final solution to the problem of safety, I concede that it is an important strategy in a society where women feel unsafe. It is important at this time to have some separate spaces, but they must be part of a larger basket of solutions that also address gender inequalities and gender violence.

The message that we are giving by only looking at segregation as a solution is that a society without sexual violence is not possible. What we are saying is that it is not possible for women and men to live in spaces which are mutually compatible and safe. We are also condemning all men as predators. In fact many men do not inflict sexual violence on women and we need to figure out how to build a society where this is the primary reality.

What we need to do is to begin to address the roots of inequality in our societies.  We have to do the hard work of creating a more equal and just society and there are no short cuts and easy solutions to achieve that. Along the way, we may need to do many things to improve women’s experience of everyday life, but the goal remains equality.

Kalpana Viswanath works on gender and urban issues and is co-founder of Safetipin
The views expressed by the author are personal..

- See more at: http://goo.gl/JA04Er

It's All in the Connections: Changing the World With Women One Call at a Time

Men and women need to join forces on a mission to connect women to the world. For decades we have heard about gender disparities in every field from economics to education, politics to media. Now we have new evidence of a huge information gender gap hindering the progress of the world's women -- yet another wake-up call that without engaging women, we are unlikely to solve big problems that affect all of us.

In a just-released report by GSMA, an organization that represents global mobile operators -- a report endorsed by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank -- women are being left behind in the global mobile revolution. The report, "Bridging the Gender Gap: mobile access and usage of low- and middle-income countries," finds that 1.7 billion women around the world do not own mobile phones, creating a gender gap of 200 million women. (The report updates earlier findings from five years ago highlighting the disparity in mobile phone ownership between men and women in low- and middle- income countries.)

Think about what technology like a mobile phone enables an individual to do -- from connect with friends and family to access data, information, education, training, and employment. Think about what it would mean if the power of "half the sky," -- 50% of the population -- could be unlocked through access to a mobile phone.

Interestingly, the barriers to women's access to mobile technology laid out in this report, mirror the barriers to women's progress in other sectors: cost of entry to the market, inaccessibility in rural areas, systemic discrimination, technical literacy, basic confidence, and security and harassment.

That last point -- security and harassment -- may surprise people. The notion that many women around the world fear that owning a mobile phone will subject them to harassment--which is so ingrained in their cultures. Ironically, once educated, women discover that sexual harassment can be addressed in many ways including through technology. In India, for example, new apps, such as "FightBack"  and "Safetipin" enable users to send alerts in the case of an emergency, identify risky urban areas, as well as safe places, while also gathering user-generated data on risks and safety that inform security forces, local authorities or community organizations and urban planners. India has a population of 1.3 billion yet, according to the report, 114 million fewer women than men own a mobile phone--a gender gap of 36%. India is just one example of a critical global player whose women are often at a disadvantage from discrimination owing to social norms, sexual harassment, and basic prejudice. For India and other low and middle-income countries, ending sexual harassment is not only right--it makes good business sense.

If women gain access to the global economy, net incomes and new jobs will strengthen the entire international eco system. The bottom line is that connecting women today is essential--not only through technology but through human interaction, the growth of foundations and organizations addressing these issues, public-private partnerships that engage men, and international cooperation in what is a non-zero-sum game wherein progress for some means progress for all. We also need more data collection, like this mobile phone report, to know where the gaps are, and how to close them. According to the UN Food & Agriculture Organization, if women had the same access as men to the farming sector, they could increase agricultural yields by 20-30%--enough to lift between 100 and 150 million people out of hunger. But to get there, women need basic connectivity and the information to reach their full potential.

Let's remember that women are key decision-makers in families throughout the world, but they often lack capital, full access to education, skills, training, financial autonomy and basic rights. Unleashing their potential will have a ripple effect around the globe. In the end, human beings need to connect and collaborate to survive and thrive. This is the moment for men to step up to the challenge -- working with women to better the planet -- for the sake of all of us....

Source...www.huffingtonpost.com