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There are now are supportive apps, which can be downloaded onto our smart phones, to aid with protection from Domestic Abuse.
Brogan Kelly, a paralegal from our FLD Academy, has detailed below;
Hollie Guard App
The Hollie Guard App was founded by the Hollie Gazzard Trust, in honour of Hollie Gazzard who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. Hollie, who was 20 years old at the time of her murder, was repeatedly stabbed at her place of work in front of horrified colleagues and clients, after ending the relationship just days prior. The App has different features including;
Alert, journey, meeting, man down and report.
Alert feature: “If you feel threatened, you can send out the alert by either shaking the phone or pressing the icon tile button. Hollie Guard assumes when you activate the alert, you are doing this for a reason and therefore instantly and automatically send your location to your emergency contact via SMS. After this, your phone automatically starts to record voice and video which is saved to the server, not on your phone. Your location is tracked and viewed in real-time by your emergency contacts.
Journey feature: The Journey Feature can help you travel safely by ensuring that your emergency contacts are kept informed about where you’re going so that they can check on you in case you’re in trouble. your journey by selecting a start and endpoint and selecting START. Your journey progress can be checked by tapping on the interactive map. Once you’ve reached your destination the app will ask if you are safe or not. If you select “no”, you will be given an option to trigger an alert. You can cancel your journey at any time by selecting “cancel journey” on the bottom of the journey screen where you will have to enter your four-digit pin. Your emergency contacts will receive an SMS and an email with a link to a website that lets you view the journey details in real-time. If you have places that you frequently visit you can tap on the star to save for future use.
Meeting feature: This allows you to feel safe when going to unfamiliar areas, meeting someone new or going into a potentially dangerous area where there may not be mobile phone signal or internet connection. You can set a designated duration for your meeting and alert emergency contacts if you don’t mark yourself as safe before the time has elapsed. Once the timer expires, an alert will be raised automatically, enabling your emergency contacts to pinpoint where you are so they can call for help or request an emergency response.
Man down feature: When enabled, the man down feature allows the app to automatically detect if you have had a sudden fall or stopped moving for a period of time. This provides peace of mind in your daily life including when walking the dog, out for a run alone and working at heights .It allows users performing dangerous tasks to activate an immediate alert as soon as the user be- comes motionless. To activate, head to the menu option at the bottom of the screen. Go into app settings and click the slider to enable Man Down. It can be used on its own or alongside another feature like the meeting feature.
Report feature: The Report feature allows users to record an incident quickly and easily with supporting photo evidence that is automatically categorised, time stamped and geo-tagged. This feature can be used to create a log of events which can be used as evidence if required. All reports will get saved to the Hollie Guard server.
Information can be found at Hollie Guard App - Hollie Gazzard Trust Find the app here Hollie Guard - Personal Safety on the App Store
Bright Sky App
This free app is available if you are experiencing domestic abuse, or are worried about a family member, friend or colleague. This app is available in five languages; English, Welsh, Urdu, Punjabi and polish, provides information and support about domestic abuse.
How to spot the signs within relationships is vital. The app provides a short assessment of the safety of the relationship, based on answers given. There is a directory and guidance on support available for victims and there is practical advice for those who are seeking to support someone close tothem, for example, some conversation starters and tips surrounding approaching sensitive conversations.
There is also a journal feature which allows for a record of evidence to be sent to a safe email address of the users choosing. Information can be found at NHSEngland » Bright Sky and BrightSky app | HestiaFind the app here BrightSky on the App Store and google play BrightSky - Apps on Google Play
If you need urgent assistance, or know anyone who is suffering from Domestic Abuse, please contact us.