The “Fight Back” app created by Indian non-profit Whypoll will — at the press of a single key — send an SOS message via text message, email and Facebook.
Once the SOS is activated, recipients will be able to track the sender’s location via GPS and come to her aid.
“I grew up in Delhi and it’s always been an unsafe city. And it just keeps getting worse. As a woman, you just don’t feel comfortable on the roads,” Whypoll co-founder Shweta Punj told AFP.
“I was disgusted by the violence and wanted to do something about it.”
Delhi now tops the list of India’s most unsafe cities for women, with 489 reported rape cases in 2010, up from 459 in 2009, according to police statistics.
India’s rapid economic growth has thrown open new job opportunities for women, but many feel at risk of harassment or assault while travelling on their own to and from work.
In a 2010 survey by the Delhi government, the United Nations and women’s rights group Jagori (Wake Up Women), 45 percent of women said they avoided stepping out alone after dark and 65 percent feared taking public transport.
The survey also suggested that police needed to play a stronger role in safeguarding the rights of women.
According to Whypoll co-founder Hindol Sengupta, while users can choose to include a number for the Delhi police in their SOS shortlist, the main focus of the app is to alert friends and family.