An app designed to help women feel safer while travelling home from work at night, is to be offered free to female hospitality workers.
After a successful bid to the Home Office, the Isle of Wight Council will work in partnership with Shaping Portsmouth and Portsmouth City Council to issue over 300 licenses for the StaySafe Lone Worker app to women working in the hospitality sector on the Island and in Portsmouth.
The app is available to businesses such as pubs, restaurants and shops. It is able to track their movements and connect them to a call centre while travelling home at night. The user will be able to log when they leave work and then again when they reach home, with their whereabouts picked up by a Milton Keynes based control centre to ensure they reach their destination.
If they feel unsafe along the way, the user can tap to be connected to a call handler to speak to while they travel, and if the situation escalates the handler can then contact the police and give them accurate co-ordinates.
Sam McGrath, Stay Safe Project Leader, said:
"Previously spending 22 years working in the hospitality and events industry, safety for all employees late at night is a priority. Having said that, it has not always been that easy to control, as the logistics can be too much to manage. I am thrilled to be introduced to the Stay Safe Lone Worker App.
"Shaping Portsmouth want to help overcome these challenges by supporting both the Isle of Wight Council and Portsmouth City Council with the new ‘Stay Safe’ app pilot scheme. It’s crucial everyone, including the 56 per cent of women who make up the hospitality industry, feel safe, not only late at night."
Councillor Ian Stephens, Isle of Wight Council Cabinet lead for Community Protection, said:
“I would encourage Island hospitality business owners to sign up to this app, to provide that added precaution for their female workers on their journey to and from work.
“Keeping our Island a safe community is a priority for us and this app provides peace of mind and security for lone workers travelling home at night.”
Stef Nienaltowski, CEO of Shaping Portsmouth, adds:
"This is really worth businesses getting involved in. Not only will it help women feel safer, it will send a message to any potential predators. If they think a woman has this as protection it could deter them from following her or doing something."
The free app offer is in place for the hospitality sector to use the available licenses until March 2023.
If you would like to sign up your business to the StaySafe app offer, email [email protected].
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