THE SORORITY was created by The Sorotity Foundation, a nonprofit organisation based in France, as a collective and grassroots solution to the systemic problem of violence against women and gender minorities. In a world where one out of three women is or will be a survivor of physical or sexual violence, THE SORORITY wishes to unite women and people from gender minorities and help them fight against violence.
The app allows anyone who feels an immediate danger at home, in the streets or in public transportation (as a witness or a victim), to rapidly send a discreet alert to the community. Any member of the community receiving the alert is able to help, either by getting in contact with the caller and offering assistance if they are close-by, geolocate them to keep them company or call the authorities if needed. The app provides other useful features such as a very loud and alarming ringtone to surprise the attacker, a list of the necessary emergency numbers and a distress message to display on the screen to discreetly ask someone for help.
The Sorotity Foundation said: “These tools were created with the objective to reduce the gravity of the potential assaults by destabilising and distracting the attacker, shifting the “freeze” response that often hinders victims’ reaction onto the assailant, diminishing the bystander effect by involving a community of witnesses, or alerting the authorities more quickly.
“To prevent the risk of fake profiles, each member’s registration is manually verified and approved with a real-time selfie and picture of their ID. In compliance with EU’s data protection regulations (GDPR), the data is deleted from the platform following the profile’s approval or refusal.
“If a profile is identified as a potential threat by the community, the individual is immediately banned, and an internal investigation evaluates the risk before the profile is permanently deleted. To this day, no case has been reported. This thorough double-checking method allows the app to be a safe place for everyone, where members have the well-being of all at heart.
“THE SORORITY’s features are proven to be highly effective. One minute after giving the alert, 10 contacts on average are mobilised, and reach out through phone calls and chat interactions. The solution is also in very high demand with over 80,000 verified profiles, and close to 6,500 individuals offering a shelter to those in need of a safe place to escape to.
“The app has received 100% positive feedback from users, with 93.9% of them saying the app makes them feel safer when they are in the streets or in public transportation by themselves.”
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