SafePub: The Best Way to Enjoy a Hassle-Free Night Out
“I wanted to see what a tool looked like that both provided women
and LGBTQ+ people resources for a safe night out and also
promoted a network of committed allies.”
First-year student Anne Keating created SafePub, a speculative project that commits to women and vulnerable minorities’ safety. Prioritizing the well being of women and LGBTQ+ individuals, the project envisions a network of allies in the form of pub owners, staff, taxi drivers, and local law enforcement.
>>Click above to watch Safe Pub app demo.
The SafePub app allows users to tailor the app to their needs. Safety features are always running in the background and can be accessed at any time. These include pinned maps that show the closest locations of pubs, drivers, and local law enforcement. The app processes rideshare requests immediately, and the VR-enhanced view function permits an end-user to confirm that the car approaching them is, in fact, the vehicle they hailed.
If the situation is dire, local law enforcement can be urgently alerted from within the app. In this case, the user’s card with photo and emergency contact information is sent to the local law enforcement officer’s phone along with their location data. All drivers and law enforcement personnel pinned in the app have undergone SafePub training.
“I wanted to see what a tool looked like that provided women and LGBTQ+ people resources for a safe night out, “ Anne shares, “and also promoted a network of committed allies in pub owners, staff, taxi drivers and local law enforcement personnel.”
Annes says that the SafePub project as a whole—the training program, the network of pub owners, staff, taxi drivers, and law enforcement personnel—may not be ultimately viable as a commercial product now. “It would require a commitment to the safety of women and vulnerable minorities. However, I’d like to believe that if we draw and model what these gentler realities could look like that perhaps there is a future business partnership that would develop and implement SafePub in its entirety.”