Viridu to help fight sexual harassment
View(s):Women In Need (WIN), an organization dedicated to addressing gender based violence in Sri Lanka has created a mobile app called 2six4, giving women, girls and bystanders the ability to inform selected contacts immediately when in need of help. It also connects you to the nearest police stations and the Police Women and Children’s Desk, at the press of a button.
To create awareness about the app and fight sexual harassment in public transport, WIN found the solution inside public transport itself – ‘Viridu Alert’. WIN collaborated with a famous local Viridu singer, Suranga Kavee and created a song that carried a strong message for predators lurking in buses and trains. It also encouraged bystanders to come forward and help. During their performance, Suranga and his pupils informed passengers about the ‘2six4’ app that women can use in an emergency situation. For a change, Viridu Singers performed not just to earn a living but also for a good cause. Using Viridu as a medium WIN spread awareness about the issue and also gave people a solution, at their fingertips.
The ‘2six4’app is available in three languages – English, Sinhala and Tamil. It is Sri Lanka’s first ever gender-based violence reporting app, available for download on the App Store and Google Play.
There have been over a thousand downloads of the app so far, and it is slowly gaining popularity among women and girls. all over Sri Lanka. WIN hopes this app would contribute to organisation’s work in addressing sexual and gender based violence in Sri Lanka, and make women feel safe and empowered. WIN welcomes any feedback and can be sent to womeninneed87@gmail.com
Although Sec 345 of the Penal Code, Sexual harassment constitutes “harassment of a sexual nature using assault, criminal force, or words or actions which causes annoyance to the person being harassed”, victims of sexual harassment in public transport have rarely spoken out against such violations fearing repercussions and further humiliation. Predators often take advantage of these vulnerabilities faced by women and girls, WIN stated.
