App launched in France to protect women against sexual harassment

‘Garde Ton Corps’ (Protect your body) is an app developed in France by a yoga teacher after she and her friends have repeatedly experienced harassment and assaults on the streets. After starting the app project she received many stories of harassment. After help from local police and a town hall in Aix, the app was released in Marseille, where 20 000 people downloaded the app in the week of its launch. After a successful trial on the local level, it has been rolled out across the country. The app has multiple functions, such as ‘I am going home’ -which allows sharing route to trusted people; ‘Help me’ – in case of an emergency situation with a pre-loaded alert message which sends out location and battery status to trusted people, or the ‘Safe places’ option which provides a list of places which partnered with the app offering themselves as a safe space where women can go in case of need. The app is available in France and free to download.