An app to prevent violence before it happens.

May 17, 2012 9:41 AM

Circle of 6, one of the winners of the HHS / White House "Apps Against Abuse" challenge.

"Circle of 6 is a tool that meets young people where they are and offers concrete strategies for supporting each other, whether safety threats are coming from intimate relationships or potentially dangerous social situations." Somaya Chemaly review in Huff Post Tech.

posted by what's her name (7 comments total)

On Watch, with the "dead man switch" option seems a little more useful. How many women are going to feel uncomfortable pulling out the iPhone if things get "a little weird" and then find it's too late? Whereas setting it before hand is more like making sure the oven is off.
posted by DU at 9:51 AM on May 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

I went to read more on the On Watch App and got the 404 page. It is truly wonderful: a unicorn on a government site!

Diversion over, can someone point me to anything on On Watch? I'm curious about how the two compare.
posted by Hactar at 9:53 AM on May 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

OnWatch & Circle of 6 at the challenge submission page. OnWatch & Circle of 6's home pages.
posted by cashman at 10:09 AM on May 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, having served as a "dead man switch" in the past for people going into dates that they were slightly concerned about (and a "first weekend visit" from a LDR), I think an app that must be disabled (possibly periodically) is a good idea (although ripe for comic/not so comic hijinx if the person forgets to deactivate it).

Now if we could only get apps that alert men. You know, it could self text "Hey, don't rape anyone, OK?" "You are not owed sex." "She is drunk; that's rape." and other useful aphorisms, then call police for you. That would be a different approach to stopping rape.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:22 AM on May 17, 2012 [9 favorites]

Genji, I wanna buy you a bundt cake or something for that observation.

Bravo to this whole concept; I actually have my own version (a couple of my male friends know that if I ever call them or text them out of the blue and mention a specific code word, it means "I am in trouble, come help me"), but the app seems much easier.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:37 AM on May 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Disappointed that only those with iPhones can currently get these (though I'm glad OnWatch says the Android app is in development). For that matter, it's problematic that it's only a smartphone app. It'd be good to have a text-to-this-number service for dumbphones, particularly if that had special options for people on pay-as-you-go plans (which are more common in poorer communities).
posted by gusandrews at 11:20 AM on May 17, 2012 [3 favorites]

"She says, you're not going to touch me because.... SHE'S HOLDING A THERMAL DETONATOR!"

One of the first things to pop into my mind after seeing 'dead man's switch'.
posted by Slackermagee at 4:48 PM on May 17, 2012