Punjab govt to launch Women’s Safety phone app today

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif's Special Monitoring Unit (SMU) is launching the Women Safety smartphone app on January 4 (today), in collaboration with the Punjab Safe Cities Authority and the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW).

The smartphone app carries a special button for women’s safety that provides access to the PCSW helpline (1043), SMU’s Women-on-Wheels campaign, and the Police, allowing users to mark unsafe spaces.

Law and Order SMU head Salman Sufi said that the Punjab Government is keen to launch the Women’s Safety app to ensure that women have an effective platform to report incidents of harassment.

PCSW chairperson Fauzia Viqar added that the app includes a button connecting the app with the Punjab Women’s Helpline that provides information on available laws and services for women and addresses complaints of inaction or discrimination by other government institutions.

The app will allow women to notify Police Integrated Command, Control and Communication (PPIC3) officials if they face any kind of harassment, along with their exact geographic location. A team of first responders will then be dispatched immediately to tackle the situation.