Tel Aviv launches community security app aimed at protecting women
SafeUP allows women to use the app when they encounter real or potential danger
The city of Tel Aviv-Yafo has launched a smartphone application that aims to help women strengthen the safety and security of their community via online networking.
The creators of the SafeUP app, developed at CityZone, say the aim of the app is to build a "network of communities through which women can feel safer and secure going through their daily lives."
According to developers, the SafeUP allows women to use the app when they encounter real or potential danger.
"The project was set up in Tel Aviv-Yafo with the objective of adapting the city's public spaces so that everyone feels safe and protected anywhere, and at any time of the day or night."
Neta Schreiber, CEO and co-founder of SafeUP, stressed that the aim of the initiative was "to make our daughters and every woman feel safe everywhere: to walk down a dark alley without fear; to go to an anxiety-free date; go dancing in a nightclub or even just take a late-night walk."
SafeUP is not only an application but also a community: dozens of women specially trained in its use are available to provide assistance if necessary by phone and video or through personal support at any time.
The crime rate in Tel Aviv is relatively low for a metropolitan city, but a 2018 Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) survey revealed that some 336,000 women over the age of 20 in Israel were harmed by various offenses, including 140,000 who were sexually harassed.
The survey also showed that around 15,000 were victims of sexual offenses such as indecent assault, rape or attempted rape.