Unarguably, most college students all over the world hold onto their smartphones more that they care for their textbooks. Apparently, seven US colleges saw this as an opportunity to protect their students from crimes like sexual harassment. Rape cases in America continue to rise and both teachers and parents need to ensure the safety of their teens.
Jessica Ladd, the founder of Callisto, provides the platform to do just that. Callisto is an app geared toward "accurately" handling sexual harassment on college campuses. According to CNN, the National Sexual Assault Resource Center recorded that one in five women get assaulted at school. On the contrary, one in 16 men experiences sexual abuse too.
However, the more alarming part is that only 10 percent of the victims will report their cases. Usually, survivors wait up to 11 months to state their assault. Not only will Callisto save time-stamped records, it will also give authorities better evidence and data about repeat offenders.
Callisto offers three options for students such as "report", "save later", or "match". The third one submits the log only if the assailant's name appears in another student report. For the record, up to 90 percent of rape cases are committed by the same people.
The security app was launched in 2015 and is being used by the University of San Francisco, Canisius College, St. John's University, Pomona College, Central College, Coe College, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. The setup fee is worth between $5000 to $10,000 and a yearly subscription.
Meanwhile, Allied News reported that in today's "need-to-know-now" attitude of students, emergency information should be immediately available too. This is the reason why Slippery Rock University acquired the "Just in Case" app. It contains "all the resources and contact information" every student might, but hopefully not, need. For example, the application provides national crisis hotlines, University Police, and 911.
