New app launched in Gloucestershire to tackle violence towards women and girls
It's completely anonymous and free to download
A new app has alunched in Gloucestershire to tackle violence towards women and girls.
The free app enables women and girls to anonymously share their experiences of how and where they have felt unsafe in public. in the hopes of making it a safer place for them to be.
'Flare' has been created to encourage the reporting of a range of behaviours and incidents which often go unreported to police, including sexual comments made in public, catcalling, stalking, upskirting and wolf whsilting.
Information shared anonymously on the app will be used by police, councils and local partner agencies to take action.
Gloucestershire Police will then use to data to identify areas where incidents happen regularly.
They will then ensure this area is made safer by either increased police patrols, action taken to support a particular bar or club, increased CCTV or improvements made to street lighting.
"It's concerning so many people feel unsafe"
Assistant Chief Constable Rhiannon Kirk, the Constabulary's lead for Violence and Intimidation Against Women and Girls, said: "We are working hard every day to make our streets safer for everyone, and we're hopeful this new anonymous reporting app will enable local agencies to work together and take action.
"We've heard the public's concerns around how women and girls experience inappropriate behaviour on a regular basis, how this impacts their lives and the changes they feel they have to make to their daily routine to keep themselves safe.
"The Flare app will help to improve our understanding of these types of unwanted and unwarranted behaviours and incidents, as well as where they happen, and enable partners to use the intelligence generated to build a picture of what is really happening on our streets, which often goes underreported.
"It is concerning that so many people feel unsafe - whether walking home in the evening, at a pub or club or in certain areas of the county. We want to improve this, as nobody should fear for their safety.
"Our hope is that this app will help build our knowledge of what is happening and where and to use this knowledge to shape our policing of these areas."
A series of roadshows are taking place across the county for the launch of the app. Locations include universities and town centres.
The Flare app can be downloaded onto a smartphone by visitingwww.flarereport.co.uk.