NEW YORK, November 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- GotU, a simple iPhone app launched today, was created by an Australian grandfather to help save the lives of people at risk, especially women.
GotU was conceived by Keith Jolly, a 72-year-old semi-retired IT professional. In 2011 he witnessed an assault on a train and realised he needed an app that immediately transmitted evidence of the crime, before he became a target and had his phone destroyed. With one touch, GotU captures and transmits photographic evidence of any threat or attack, within seconds to the user's chosen trusted recipients. The message sent includes tamperproof image of the situation, a map and GPS co-ordinates, date, time and other data.
He did nothing for a year after the train assault but in 2012, following horrifying attacks on women globally, especially in Australia and India, and the increasing number of campus rapes in the US, he felt duty bound to develop GotU with some colleagues.
"I wish we had developed GotU earlier. Perhaps some lives could have been saved," Jolly said. "It is my objective with GotU to help people who find themselves at risk, or those who witness crimes as I did."
The app is being launched to coincide with the United Nations '16 days of activism against gender violence'. According to World Health Organisation's global study in July, nearly 30% of women globally have suffered sexual and/or physical violence, often at hands of their partner.
"GotU is essential for those times in life when you can find yourself in the frightening 'wrong place, wrong time'", said Jolly.
Anyone at-risk can activate GotU to put it into witness mode. Then, with just one touch of the screen, evidence is captured and transmitted within seconds to the private inboxes of up to eight user-selected recipients. Jolly said GotU is also intended to record, and potentially deter other incidents including alcohol induced violence, campus rape, bullying, sexual harassment, workplace harassment, assault, taxi violence, racial crime, stalking, abduction, elderly attacks. It is also a tool for witnessing violations of restraining orders.
"We hope it acts as a deterrent when a perpetrator understands evidence has already left the scene." GotU is available from App Store for $1.99 with no on-going charges. A percentage of proceeds will go to anti-violence organisations.
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