SheTrek - The App!
1 in 3 women suffer assault in Australia, 1 in 5 women are victims of a sexual attack - this sad fact means many of us don't feel safe on public transport when travelling alone.
As a result we either endure fear or often fork out more than we can afford in cab fares - which is anything but fair.
SheTrek aims to change this by connecting women with other women in their area making their way around alone at night - you can log in, alert women in your area that you are going to be travelling on, and arrange a place for you to meet and travel home together
either by walking, public transport or by splitting a cab fare.
And for those women who feel confident travelling at night, this is the perfect opportunity to help empower other women by reaching out and helping them travel in a safe way.
Where Do I Start?
My intial plan centres around the app - a free, functional tool that means no woman has to travel alone if she doesn't feel comfortable.
1) Log on, see who's in your area via the GPS tool (each member has a profile so you can read about your travel buddy in advance)
2) Send an alert letting the group know you are wanting to travel home
3) Arrange a safe space for you to meet
4) Make your journey together and activate the tracker so your friends and family can chart your progress.
5) Or, if public transport isn't convenient, split a cab - making it cheaper and safer!
It can be used for wider spread change too - if you are a group of women travelling in a well known social area and you know a lot of girls will be trying to get home safe - you can send alerts letting them know you are happy to buddy up and escort them
home. It doesn't just have to be for individuals - but is a tool to start a bigger movement of women looking out for women.
Call to action
All I need to get this app started is $3000 to get a basic version developed. Once I have this I will approach companies such as White Ribbon to gain support for the app and I will then look to raise awareness in the media.
Functionality will include:
* A messaging system
* Ability to build a profile so you can learn about your buddies before you meet up
* Security checks
* GPS tracking so family and friends can see your progress
