About nine years ago I quit my career in aviation to start Safecity, a crowdmap for personal stories of sexual and gender based violence. This was in response to the horrific gang rape of Jyoti Singh that took place in Delhi on 16 December 2012.
At the time I was working as Vice President Network Planning at Kingfisher Airlines. The incident coincided with a time in my life when I was looking for my purpose. The gangrape opened up the space for conversation about violence against women, gender inequality and harmful gender practices. It triggered many memories of being sexually harassed on public transport, in public spaces and also at work. Suddenly all my friends were also sharing their stories. Until then all of us were silent. We were shocked and galvanised into action.
I launched Safecity with my friends to break the cycle of silence and bridge the data gap that exists because most women and girls do not report their experiences. Each story is anonymously documented on a map, visualised as hotspots. This allows us to analyse localised patterns and trends, study what makes a location the comfort zone of a perpetrator and how might we end this cycle of violence.
Since then, we have collated over 35000 stories not only in India but also around the world through partner organisations. Sexual and gender based violence is a global pandemic impacting on an average one in three women around the world at least once in her lifetime. Yet most of these incidents are never reported due to fear, stigma and taboo. Often this violence is linked to honour and societal pressure prevents women and girls from speaking up as it is perceived to bring shame to themselves and their families. This further normalises the violence and it becomes part of the daily routine.
Over the last nine years, I have been pushed out of my comfort zone and had to unlearn, relearn and learn new skills. I have recreated networks of support, collaborated with diverse organisations like police, corporations, transport agencies, civic officials and education institutions for safer and inclusive spaces. I firmly believe in the power of information and data driving decisions. Our dataset is available in open source format for individuals, communities and institutions to use to design local interventions thus giving them agency and voice.
We invest in youth leadership and give them platforms to experiment and fail. Through Campus Ambassador programs, innovation challenges and creative design sprints we help them think about their role as active bystanders and agents of change. I am living my purpose - Be the Change you wish to see in the world.