People involved in sex work are incredibly vulnerable to violent crime and often find themselves in dangerous situations. Working with Reason Digital, we’re developing Safetynets, a phone app which allows sex workers to quickly alert each other to imminent dangers nearby to help prevent instances of assault, rape or murder. This builds on an existing text messaging scheme but will automate the process, ensuring the time critical safety alerts are shared with others nearby. The organisation is working closely with the police and support agencies, as well as service users to ensure it is safe and effective. Find out more here.
The Safetynets project funded by The Comic Relief tech for good programme was an incredibly valuable experience providing intensive support and guidance right from the start through the provision of expert mentors from a variety of professionals. This enabled us to get the best value from the project and quickly overcome and anticipate issues and concerns by utilising the skills and experience of the mentors. This programme gave us a useful insight into how technology can support the valuable work of charities and we fully appreciate this opportunity and the learning we have taken from the programme.
Kerri Swindells, NUM