Marie Claire Magazine’s January 2012 issue features an interesting advance in the age of preventing violence before it happens, with the aid of technology.

Two examples of such tools are the Circle of 6 and OnWatch apps. Imagine an application on your phone, that allowed you to reach your chosen group of family and/or friends, with a few touches? With a design that doesn’t give away your cry for help, you are able to speedily reach your circle of contacts so that they know you are in immediate danger, as well as your location, thanks to a GPS. OnWatch ignites a similar emergency rescue request and while the target market for both apps are college-aged students (particularly women, who are more likely to be the victims of sexual assault and relationship violence) the rest of the population could definitely benefit from it.

Currently available on the iPhone, availability on other multiple devices and operating systems are in the works.

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