Discussion: Narrative summary of themes arising

Despite the proliferation of personal safety apps in recent years, there is little academic literature (Eisenhut et al., 2020) and few official reports on the subject. Most research on mobile apps focusses on health and fitness apps (Maxwell et al., 2020), while the majority of research looking at personal safety apps has examined their use in specific contexts: on university campuses (McGrath, 2016) or to tackle intimate partner violence (Doria et al., 2021). Much less has been written about the use of apps in public spaces including public transport. It is important to note that public space is a contested concept and there is no universal definition (Low, 2023). The following section outlines the themes arising from the literature search including: the likelihood of women to use apps, user experiences of apps to enhance feelings of safety and to increase reporting of incidents, as well as the need for a multi-pronged, joined up approach to women’s safety.

The willingness of women to use personal safety apps

Several studies have looked at the willingness of women and girls to use personal safety apps (McCarthy et al., 2016, Potter et al., 2020; Tozzo et al., 2021). Two of the main themes that emerged were a lack of awareness of the existence of apps in the first place, as well as a general willingness to download them. A study in Italy with 1782 university students found that most participants had never downloaded an app and 62.6% of respondents had no awareness of personal safety apps (Tozzo et al., 2021). This echoes the findings of McCarthy et al., (2016), who found that only 1.7% of participants in a study in Ireland reported using personal safety apps, however 79.5% of participants said they would be willing to download an app. McCarthy et al., (2016) found that younger people in their study would be less likely to download an app if it had a cost association. The study also found that females with lower levels of engagement in technology, higher levels of education or those who lived in Dublin city were less likely to consider downloading an app.

A study with 203 students in Johannesburg, S. Africa (Oksiutycz & Lubinga 2021) found that the majority of participants were unaware of the existence of apps but that they would download apps if they were free or recommended by peers. Only 15% of participants in the study used apps and key factors influencing the decision to use apps were credibility, perceived utility, and safety experience (Oksiutycz & Lubinga 2021). A study by Potter et al., (2020) in the US looked at the likelihood of students to download an app called uSafeUS, designed for university students to raise awareness and to report incidents of violence on campuses. The study found that only 20% of students had heard of the app, and that students were more likely to download the app if their universities were proactive in engaging in conversations about sexual violence on campus. Younger females were more likely to download the app and the reasons cited were to keep themselves safe, to keep their friends safe, and because of the educational features on the app. Of the 80% of participants who had never heard of the app, 50% of respondents said they would recommend it to a friend.

Another study of university students in the US looking at the use and perception of the ‘Circle of 6’ personal safety app found that two out of three participants reported talking to their friends about the app (Blayney et al., 2018). It is important to note that many smartphones currently have in-built technologies like GPS, real time user information and video and audio (Ford et al., 2022). Indeed, Blayney et al., (2018) found that the reason university students chose not to download the safety app ‘Circle of 6’ was because its features were already present in their smartphones. In terms of personal safety on public transport, a study by TravelWatch (2021) found that London commuters wanted to see a purpose-built app to report crime and three in four passengers said they would be likely to use an app to report crime on public transport (TravelWatch, 2021).

User experiences of personal safety apps

Doria et al., (2021) conducted a narrative scoping review of literature around personal safety apps for sexualised violence and found that women in all studies reported that the apps were ‘user friendly, easy to use and easily accessible’ (Doria et al., 2021: 18). Six of the studies found that personal safety apps were ‘credible, evidence-based and trauma-informed’ (Doria et al., 2021: 19). It concluded that personal safety apps were useful in providing support and information and in helping with emergency planning, which in turn empowered women. Ford et al., (2022) looked at the user reviews from eighty-six apps in the UK and found that over half of the users reported a positive response towards apps. Another study found that personal safety apps with an educational focus helped to validate women’s experiences and helped women to recognise violent behaviour through myth debunking (Doria et al., 2021). 

Apps impact on the feeling of safety

Apps appear to enhance the feeling of safety for women. A study by Transport Scotland (2023) found that for young people, apps provided ‘a sense of pro-actively addressing their own safety’ (Transport Scotland, 2023:15). This finding was echoed in a report by the Women’s Safety in Public Places Community Improvement Partnership (Edinburgh City Council, 2022), which found that younger women endorsed the use of personal safety apps like Life 360, particularly those which match the user with someone to walk home with, apps which allow reporting of an incident to police and those with a tracking feature. A study by Ford et al., (2020) looking at user reviews of eighty-six personal safety apps in the UK found that apps provided users with ‘peace of mind’ and increased confidence. This finding was echoed by Natarajan, (2016) who conducted a study on the use of the mobile phone ‘TecSOS’ (Tecsos.co.uk, 2013) an initiative developed by the UK police to support survivors of domestic abuse. TecSOS is not an app, rather it is a phone handset with a panic alarm which connects directly to emergency services. A study of its effectiveness found that the TecSOS phone increased the self-confidence of women and deterred further abuse from happening (Natarajan, 2016).

Over half the apps in Ford et al’s., (2022) study had a tracking feature and McCarthy et al., (2016) found that females were more likely to download an app if it had a tracking feature. Similarly, a study by Blayney et al., (2018) looking at the use of the personal safety app ‘Circle of 6’ found that the tracking feature was what users liked the most. A study on a university campus in the US (Vaghela & Shih, 2018) compared the use of a campus-based security app to report incidents, to the WalkSafe app which worked in conjunction with smartwatch technology. It tested a fake emergency pre and post app and found that the WalkSafe app, which included GPS tracking, allowed users to locate the incident and in turn prioritise their own safety. Users preferred being able to use a smartwatch rather than having to rely on a phone.

Several apps work in conjunction with a network of trusted pre-determined contacts. The rationale behind using friends/family as a trusted network is to mitigate the possibility that bystanders will be less likely to intervene (Blayney et al., 2018) and that emergency services may not arrive in time. Blayney et al., (2018) studied the use and perception of the personal safety app ‘Circle of 6’, which utilises six pre-determined contacts as a trusted network. The study found users liked being able to contact multiple people and that the trusted contacts reported greater intentions to help friends versus strangers. Just and Willis (2019) conducted a laboratory study with thirty participants and recorded their responses to potentially risky scenarios before and after using the app. Participants reported that they would use personal safety apps most often to support “collective” responses, with calls to others for assistance.

Apps and campaigns to increase the reporting of crime

As has been noted above, VAWG on public transport is often underreported (Gekoski et al., 2015). This barrier to reporting may be alleviated by anonymous reporting apps (Eisenhut et al., 2020). Doria et al., (2021) found that apps reduced the stigma around reporting sexual violence, reducing the shame associated with face-to-face disclosures. A 2019 study by Ceccato looked at the use of the SafeLand app in Sweden to report crime in public spaces. It found that participants used the app mostly to report incidents of crime and to inform others of incidents. The app was used less often to prevent incidents from occurring in the first place (Ceccato, 2019).

It is important to note that apps are often released as part of wider campaigns to tackle VAWG. In 2013, Project Guardian was established in London by the BtP, the Metropolitan Police force and TfL, following a report which found that 15% of women had been sexually harassed whilst using public transport in London (UK Government, 2013). According to TfL (2017), the number of reported incidents doubled from 1,023 in 2012/13 to 2,087 in 2015/16. The following year, TfL launched the ‘Report It to Stop It’ campaign (2014) to encourage the reporting of sexual harassment to police. TfL (2016) note that it saw an increase in reporting by 6.6% following the campaign, compared to the previous year.

The Railway Guardian app was launched alongside other campaigns including a campaign to increase bystander intervention, following research that women are more likely to intervene if they witness sexual harassment (UK Government Equalities Office, 2020). Campaigns used social media influencers to gain traction on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Although it is not possible to measure the direct impact of the media campaign, the BtP used a public perception tracker of 2,000 train, tram and tube users in England, Scotland and Wales and found that awareness around reporting increased from 81% in June 2022 to 87% in July 2022 and 89% in August 2022 following the campaign (BtP, 2023). Between its launch in July 2022 and June 2023, there were over 50,000 downloads of the app, 35,000 by the general public, and the rest by BtP and train operating companies (College of Policing, 2023). By February 2023, there were 288 text reports and 87 reports of environmental concerns submitted through the app (College of Policing, 2023) indicating the potential usefulness of apps to increase reporting. However, there has been no formal evaluation of the Railway Guardian app.

International examples of campaigns include the ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign launched by Metro Vancouver Transit Police in Canada, where passengers could report incidents via an app (TransLink, 2015). Before and after figures of crime recorded by Metro Vancouver Transit Police saw a 28% increase in reporting since the launch of the initiative (Talbott, 2014) and 1,504 police files were created because of text reports (Metro Vancouver Transit Police, 2015). Following an anti-harassment advertising campaign, Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority reported an increase in the reporting of sexual crimes by 32% (Gekoski et al., 2015).

Technologies alone cannot tackle VAWG

VAWG is a complex problem that requires complex interventions. Stand-alone interventions like apps are not enough to tackle the problem in isolation (Gekoski et al., 2015). Indeed, technologies alone cannot address VAWG, rather a solution requires technologies, effective responses, protocols, and awareness raising (World Bank, 2014). Personal safety apps need to be integrated into other interventions (Eisenhut et al., 2020) like digital and print media campaigns, as well as educational events (Ison&Matthewson, 2023).

In 2015, the World Bank and George Washington University launched a campaign in Mexico called “’¡Hazme el paro!” roughly translated as ‘Have my back’. The campaign had three components: a marketing campaign to help bystanders intervene if they witnessed sexual harassment; training for bus drivers on how to deal with sexual harassment; and an app for bus users to be able to report violence. The results of the four-month pilot demonstrated changed attitudes towards sexual harassment and an increase of young men wanting to intervene in the event of an incident, indicating the potential usefulness of a multi-pronged approach (World Bank, 2016). Similarly, a 2014 campaign in Brazil called ‘Voce nao esta sozinha’ (‘You are not alone’) included three elements: CCTV, staff training and a campaign to encourage victims and bystanders to report VAWG (Ceccato & Paz, 2017). A ‘multi-pronged’ (Ding et al., 2020) approach to tackling VAWG includes different elements: technologies, urban planning, technologies, education, and outreach campaigns.

Need for a joined-up approach to women’s safety

The need for a joined-up approach to women’s safety was identified in the literature. A 2022 report commissioned by the UK Department of Transport (DfT) and carried out by the West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA) found that there was no joined up approach to public safety across different transport modes in the UK, which was often confusing for passengers. The report called for a ‘whole, end to end journey’ approach, covering all modes of transport (Transport for West Midlands, 2022). This includes ensuring safety for the ‘last mile or kilometre (Loukaitou-Sideris, 2020: 324). While technologies in theory should make a door-to-door approach to personal safety easier to implement (Ceccato et al., 2022), in practice this is problematic because of many different transport systems that exist (Ceccato & Loukaitou-Sideris, 2022). The Railway Guardian app functions on trains in the UK for example, but not on the bus network, or in walking ‘the last kilometre’ home. Safety interventions needs to account for the complex nature of women’s travel patterns (Transport Scotland, 2023) and a joined-up approach is needed between transport and non-transport settings (Ison&Matthewson, 2023). Equally important is that data is shared between transport providers and local authorities and the WMCA (2022) recommends the need for ‘a national intelligence database’ across all modes of transport.