India presses the panic button

Skanky Vamp

Skanky Vamp

Sniffin' the Slayer
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Via Verge

All mobile phones sold in India will be required to have a panic button as of next year, the country's telecommunications ministry announced this week, as part of an effort to enhance safety for women. As Bloomberg reports, the order requires handset makers to implement an emergency feature that could be activated by holding down the numbers 5 or 9 on a keypad. The function will be mandatory on all phones by January 1st, 2017, while GPS navigation systems will be mandatory on all devices by 2018.

Women's safety in India have drawn worldwide attention following reports of gang rapes and other forms of violence. There were more than 330,000 reported cases of violence against women in 2014, according to government statistics, up nine percent from the previous year. The issue has spurred some companies to develop apps and services that make it easier for women to contact emergency services. India's minister for women and child development, Maneka Gandhi, pushed for mandated panic buttons last year.

"Technology is solely meant to make human life better and what better than using it for the security of women," Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a statement.

It's not yet clear which emergency services would be contacted through the new panic button feature. India has no national, 911-type system, but instead has four different numbers for various services. Last month, officials said that a centralized emergency number, 112, would be introduced this year.

I just don't see where this would do much at all. If you are being physically assaulted I think it might be rather difficult to whip out your cell phone and hold down the number 5 (or 9).

Do you think this will help?
 
My first thought was that this service will get a lot of calls from small children having gotten hold of a parent's phone. Secondly, if you can get hold of your phone and find the right key, I suppose you can also punch 112 and make an emergency call.

False security, I fear.
 
Professor Walsh said:
False security, I fear.
Click to expand...
Maybe if it were also meant to also sound a siren and flash lights or something, that might be beneficial, but thus far they say it's to only dial an emergency number. I do not see where that will do much good.

I do not think about tykes pressing the button though, that's a good point.
 
It just seems like putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound though.. but I guess small steps are better than nothing.
 
When the problem is that big, something is better than nothing. I mean, I have a security system on my house, and I like the idea that there is a panic button on it. Yeah, I could call the police, but it's quicker to press a button...

It's kind of the same thing as mace - if you leave it in your purse, it's worthless, but if you have it in your hand, it's useful.
 
I could see how it could be beneficial in some instances, especially if they currently don't have a centralized emergency service. My grandma had a button she could press in case she fell in her house, it was a lot easier than dialing 911 and talking to them, because the "call" would go through directly as "something bad has happened" (first to a family member, than to 911). It might eliminate the need to talk to an official if they have gps integrated in the phones, so it could be good on some situations where talking is not possible. It's hard to judge when we don't know what the emergency system is like in India.

That being said, yes, it's a plaster solution.
 
Maybe it's just own on less than intimate relationship with my cell phone. I would hate to have to dig into my pocket and try to get it out only to then punch in my four digit security code, hit the button to bring up the keypad and then hold down the 5 button.
 
Buffy Summers said:
When the problem is that big, something is better than nothing. I mean, I have a security system on my house, and I like the idea that there is a panic button on it. Yeah, I could call the police, but it's quicker to press a button...

It's kind of the same thing as mace - if you leave it in your purse, it's worthless, but if you have it in your hand, it's useful.
Click to expand...

The disappointment at reading this and seeing "a mace" and thinking
battle-mace-300x300.jpg

then realizing you wrote "mace" and probably meant spray, lol... Which makes more sense. I suppose it would be frowned upon if you carried around a battle mace...

As for the idea itself, I think it's pretty good if they don't have a national 911 type system as said. Maybe it's hard to get your phone out and press some special number, but it's probably easier than trying to call one of four services for help... Same goes if they get that centralized number, it's easier to get your phone out and just press one digit rather than trying to call somebody.
 
Mr. Pole said:
Maybe it's just own on less than intimate relationship with my cell phone. I would hate to have to dig into my pocket and try to get it out only to then punch in my four digit security code, hit the button to bring up the keypad and then hold down the 5 button.
Click to expand...

But wouldn't it work without you having to punch in the security code? I can make emergency calls on mine without first punching in the security code... seems like this should be similar.
 
Bluebird
Bluebird
lol I imagine a battle mace would also do the trick
Blaze
Blaze
I vote for carrying a battle mace aound!
Taake said:
But wouldn't it work without you having to punch in the security code? I can make emergency calls on mine without first punching in the security code... seems like this should be similar.
Click to expand...
I can't. But the UI for OS is different than android. That would make sense. I have to hit the power button to wake it up, punch in my code and push the phone button. So yeah, if you can access the dialer from the lock screen then thats much easier.

I could see Boufay walking around with a mace in her little Hermes bag.
 
Mr. Pole said:
Maybe it's just own on less than intimate relationship with my cell phone. I would hate to have to dig into my pocket and try to get it out only to then punch in my four digit security code, hit the button to bring up the keypad and then hold down the 5 button.
Click to expand...

Normally I can see that, but I think already, if a woman is walking alone or is secluded somewhere where she feels threathened, the first reaction nowadays is to pull out the phone, just in case something happens.
 
Skanky Vamp
Skanky Vamp
Good point. I did not think of that either.
Anything that can make a woman feel safe is good. Anything that could prevent a woman coming to harm via any sort of violence, be it sexual or otherwise is good. It shouldn't be necessary, it's a sad situation that it is.

But really, the only way to fix the issue is to teach the next generation, both boys and girls, to treat everyone with respect, regardless of their gender, sexuality, skin colour, religion.

The problem is cultural. We objectify women every day. Women get routinely photoshopped in magazines. Women get slut-shamed. Women get paid less traditionally. We're teaching without trying that women are lesser beings. It's this whole attitude towards women that needs sorting out.
 
Mr. Pole said:
I could see Boufay walking around with a mace in her little Hermes bag.
Click to expand...

Like I would waste all that money on a purse.
 
Athena said:
The problem is cultural. We objectify women every day. Women get routinely photoshopped in magazines. Women get slut-shamed. Women get paid less traditionally. We're teaching without trying that women are lesser beings. It's this whole attitude towards women that needs sorting out.
Click to expand...

And I feel like there's been a backslide - but it's girls almost objectifying themselves purposefully.
 
Athena said:
But really, the only way to fix the issue is to teach the next generation, both boys and girls, to treat everyone with respect, regardless of their gender, sexuality, skin colour, religion.

The problem is cultural. We objectify women every day. Women get routinely photoshopped in magazines. Women get slut-shamed. Women get paid less traditionally. We're teaching without trying that women are lesser beings. It's this whole attitude towards women that needs sorting out.
Click to expand...
But it's a lot deeper than that in India. It's not about treating people with respect or objectifying women there... it's so much deeper. Or at least that is how it seems from a foreigner.
 
It is a start but how many women in India have a phone, how many can afford one? This panic button does it have an audible sound. Who answers the emergency call, the police? How are women viewed in India, a bit less important than the family dog.
And where did the lack of respect begin, religion.
 
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