The Chief Minister's Special Monitoring Unit in collaboration with the Punjab Safe Cities Authority and the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women launch the Women Safety Smart Phone Application on the 4th of January, 2017 at Al-Hamra, Lahore. The smart phone application developed by the Punjab Safe Cities Authority includes a special button for Women’s Safety that provides access to PCSW helpline (1043),SMU's Women-on-Wheels campaign, the Police, and allows users to avail anoption to mark unsafe spaces.The launch was attended by government officials and members of the civil society.
In regards to the launch of the App, Senior Member-Special Monitoring Unit (Law & Order), Mr. Salman Sufi emphasized that the Government of Punjab is keen to ensure that women have an effective platform to report incidents of harassment, the Women's Safety Smart Phone Application is going to be an effective implementation mechanism for this purpose.The Punjab Commission on the Status of Women-Chairperson, Ms. FauziaViqar further added that the application includes a button connecting the application with the Punjab Women’s Helpline that provides information on available laws and services for women and to address complaints of inaction or discrimination by other government institutions. She assured the women and girls of support from the Government of Punjab to provide them safety in public spaces.Punjab Safe Cities Authority-Managing Director, Mr. Ali Amer, stated that the application will make it easier for women to report harassment at all hours and will also be available offline.
The CCPO further added that the Smart Phone Application will allow women to notify the Police Integrated Command, Control and Communication (PPIC3) officials regarding the kind of harassment they are subjected to, along with their exact geographic location. The law enforcement agencies will dispatch a team of first responders to immediately tackle the situation upon receiving the notification. The App has been comprehensively designed to allow women to report any experience that renders the public space unsafe, in order to be able to make public spaces safer for women and girls in the future.
The Punjab Safe Cities Authority, Chief Minister's Special Monitoring Unit and Punjab Commission on the Status of Women are working in their respective areas to make Punjab a safer province for women. SMU's Women-on-Wheels campaign alongside being the first government-sponsored initiative to provide free motorcycle trainings to women, also raises awareness regarding street harassment.The Government of Punjab is taking steps to provide secure spaces for women's safety through various initiatives.