Apps To Document Street Harassment Give Global Women A Way To Speak Out : Goats and Soda : NPR
Elsa D'Silva
Elsa D'Silva  was 13 years old.  She  was riding a local train in Mumbai  India  with  her  mother  sister and brother. And just as  she  was about to get off   she  felt it â a hand reaching up  her  skirt.
"It affected my ability to use a train as a means of transport â and it still does  even still  " D'Silva  says. But for 25 years   she  didn't tell anyone why  she  avoided trains.
Then  in 2012  the now infamous rape of a 23-year-old medical student on a Delhi bus sparked a national conversation. For the first time   D'Silva  says  Indian women began openly discussing experiences of sexual violence  harassment and intimidation. "I realized that so many of my friends had similar experiences to mine â but until then we had never talked about it."
That year  she co-founded Safecity â an online platform that lets women immediately and anonymously report their experiences of harassment and abuse. "It's so women can share what happened  where it happened and when it happened "  D'Silva  says.
That's why  D'Silva  and  her  Safecity co-founders decided to take their efforts offline as well â with community workshops and street art campaigns.
"In New Delhi  for example  we discovered through the app that one of the hot spots for sexual harassment was a public toilet  " D'Silva  says. "It didn't have proper lighting  it didn't have proper doors and windows. And there were also young men sitting outside on a couch  harassing the women as they went in and out  even taking their photos without permission."
[TGT] was 13 years old.   [TGT]   was riding a local train in Mumbai  India  with  her  mother  sister and brother. And just as   [TGT]   was about to get off    [TGT]   felt it â a hand reaching up   [TGT]   skirt.
"It affected my ability to use a train as a means of transport â and it still does  even still   [TGT] says. But for 25 years   she  didn't tell anyone why  she  avoided trains.
Then  in 2012  the now infamous rape of a 23-year-old medical student on a Delhi bus sparked a national conversation. For the first time    [TGT] says  Indian women began openly discussing experiences of sexual violence  harassment and intimidation. "I realized that so many of my friends had similar experiences to mine â but until then we had never talked about it."
That year  she co-founded Safecity â an online platform that lets women immediately and anonymously report their experiences of harassment and abuse. "It's so women can share what happened  where it happened and when it happened "  D'Silva  says.
That's why  D'Silva  and  her  Safecity co-founders decided to take their efforts offline as well â with community workshops and street art campaigns.
"In New Delhi  for example  we discovered through the app that one of the hot spots for sexual harassment was a public toilet  " D'Silva  says. "It didn't have proper lighting  it didn't have proper doors and windows. And there were also young men sitting outside on a couch  harassing the women as they went in and out  even taking their photos without permission."