Activists can now alert for help
Political activists living under oppressive regimes, and journalists reporting from the front line, are among those who fear being kidnapped and tortured.?And while little can be done to abolish this threat entirely, a new app has been launched that turns an ordinary smartphone into a discreet panic button.?The Panic Button app is designed to give people defending human rights in dire situations urgent help from their own network if they are attacked or kidnapped.
The?Panic Button app?is an Android app (with open source code on?GitHub) that aims to turn a human rights defender?s mobile phone into a discrete alert system that can help them to get help fast in an emergency. The project supports effective security planning and response between an individual and their network.?The Panic Button project is an initiative of Amnesty International in collaboration with key advisors and partners including Frontline Defenders, iilab and the engine room.
Panic Button also belongs to a wider community of advisors and friends. Special thanks go to the network of human rights activists from more than ten countries who have worked with us over the months to collaboratively design the app and have given many hours feeding back on the usability and functionality of the app.
The app — which has been in development for over a year now — adds, subtracts, multiplies and divides just like you’d expect it to after a bit of onboarding. Hell, the app icon even changes after setup is complete to keep an even lower profile. Invoking its true purpose requires you to wail on a digit key or mash your phone’s power button. It’s only then that this unassuming number cruncher fires off a distress message and your location to three preset emergency contacts, with further updates to follow every five minutes until your phone runs out of juice.
?The aim of the Panic Button is to increase protection for activists around the world who face the ever present threat of arrest, attack, kidnap and torture,? said Tanya O?Carroll, technology and human rights officer for Amnesty International.
?We have long known that the first hours after somebody?s arrest are the crucial window of opportunity for a network to make a difference to their colleague?s release – whether it be flooding the police station with calls, arranging a protest, or mobilising lawyers and organisations like Amnesty International for a campaign of international pressure.?
?By introducing technology to the fight for human rights, this app updates the power of writing a letter for the 21st century.?
The app has been released in four languages after three months of private testing by hundreds of users from Amnesty International?s networks across 17 countries.?During the testing phase, activists and journalists said that the tool can make a positive difference in mitigating the daily risk of their day-to-day work.
Ibrahim Alsafi, a human rights activist in Sudan who has been involved in the testing of the app, said: ?It is really scary to find out that an activist has been detained for months without anyone knowing anything about them or working to get them released.??We hope Panic Button will ensure future cases of unlawful detention in Sudan do not go undetected, allowing us to mobilise to help more people. This is an essential tool for activists, human rights defenders, students and lawyers.?Everyone who might face danger in their work needs to have Panic Button on his or her phone.?
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Sources:?Forbes,?DailyMail,?Engadget