'App-Elles', an app to combat street harassment and allow people who feel unsafe to quickly contact emergency services, easily locate available help in the area and alert friends or family, is coming to Brussels.
While nine in ten women and girls in Belgium have experienced sexual harassment in public spaces, taking decisive action is difficult as the vast majority of incidents go unreported for a number of reasons. App-Elles aims to make it easier to get help, both during and after an incident.
The app was developed in 2015 by the French non-profit association Resonantes. It aimed to become a single entry point to all existing aid and resource searches for people who find themselves in distress in public or private spaces.
It works by allowing users to send an alert message to three previously chosen trusted people. In that alert, three types of information are sent: the real-time GPS position of the person in danger, the option to hear live what is happening, and precise information to be able to contact emergency services.
The alert is also automatically recorded, allowing victims to use it to file a complaint. "In the fight against harassment and sexual violence, the burden of proof still lies with the victims," Fabian Maingain (DéFi), Brussels city councillor for Economic Affairs and a Smart City, said in a press release.
"In the government agreement, it was essential to carry out projects that put digital technology at the service of this issue of security and equity that is still too often trivialised."
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App-Elles is currently available in about 30 countries. In Belgium, the app was previously launched in the city of Liège in December 2022, where it was hailed a success.
The app is available to download on the Apple Store and Google Play.
