The Enhancement of Women’s Safety Through Smartphones

Abstract: This study aims to understand how, and if, women use smartphones to enhance their safety when out of the home. Proven safety is difficult to measure, especially through a cross-sectional study; this research will assess how and if women feel safer through adapting how they use their smartphone. The primary research is predominately focused on gathering data from within the UK to understand and assess smartphone behaviours there and the impact these behaviours have on safety.  Existing research also focuses on the UK but takes lessons and development findings from across the globe to be applied as a proxy to the study and to better inform the research in the wider communication for development spectrum.   The key questions being addressed are to understand if women feel their safety is enhanced using their smartphone and if so, how they think this safety is being improved by using their smartphone. The final question addresses how these issues are answered and how communication could be enhanced to promote future safety developments within the sphere of women’s physical safety.    Data was conducted through carrying out primary research through quantitative online surveys and qualitative focus groups. The first offered robust data collection for men and women across age ranges, the second enabled for more detailed finding to be uncovered. This research was carried out in the UK (which is the initial focus of the study); this was a practical approach in terms of geographical location and language barriers, but in follow up analysis, it was also possible to find UK specific information on both smartphone usage and women’s safety. This resulted in there being a range of data to work with and analyse. This was useful to then apply comdev theories to and understand potential ways existing approaches could be developed and utilised around the world. Existing literature within the fields of women’s safety and smartphone usage was assessed to glean a more robust understanding and worldly viewpoint. Theoretical themes were addressed through literature research.    The results indicated that women were wary of their physical environments and adjusted or adapted their behaviours through their smartphone usage more so than men did to improve their safety   As this can be considered a broad and complex topic, there are several theories incorporated. For many women across the globe, the digital revolution, and smartphones, have acted as a means of empowerment. They enable humans to connect with one another regardless of where they are. For women, this has had a massive impact on safety by being able to quickly connect with other, they used messaging options with selected friends/family to notify their whereabouts to enhance their safety, others chose location sharing apps; both of which tie in with the idea of an invited space (Tufte); in this case a virtual space of safety, where the outside physical space may pose as danger. To coincide with this, many of the apps mentioned work through participatory methods, whereby users opt in to improve their safety and the safety of others.