Women “choosing the bear” has become a common analogy to highlight how unsafe they feel when walking alone at night in parking lots or in unfamiliar places. Safety fears are having a real impact on how women live their lives. For example, many women may choose not to take jobs with late shifts or avoid social opportunities altogether just due to safety concerns.
But when it comes to protecting themselves, they tend to use very informal tools that often do little to keep them safe. A common go-to when they are scared is to text or call friends and family or share their location with them instead of calling 911. After all, there is less shame in doing that than summoning the police if it’s a false alarm.
While knowing their friends and family have their location or are a call away may give women peace of mind, as a safety precaution, those methods can fall short. There’s no guarantee a friend or family member will even see the message — they may be asleep, away from their phone or have it on silent mode. And even if they respond, they may not know how to help or how to accurately relay the situation to 911. On top of all that, many messaging apps may not provide precise, real-time GPS locations, making it difficult for emergency services to locate someone in distress quickly.
Structured System With Aster
For women to be safe, there is a need for a structured system that eliminates variables that can cause informal systems to break down. With a structured system, help is available around the clock, no unanswered texts, no sleeping contacts, no uncertainty in critical moments. It also ensures that alerts are escalated appropriately, connecting both personal networks …
This post was originally published here
