<p class="bodytext">A group of students has created a website to report street harassment in Bengaluru. Called Safe Yelli, the site aims to map abuse and determine the areas where the occurrence of such incidents are high.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Safe Yelli was conceptualised and created by Adhavan Sivaraj and two other friends who are students at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology. Launched in 2021, the site was initially meant for students of Srishti and people in the Yelahanka area, where the institution is located. “A lot of the students who live in PGs in the area were reporting harassment,” shares Sivaraj. The incidents were being reported in informal WhatsApp groups but not to the police.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Recently, the website started accepting responses from victims across the city. Since it went live in 2021, close to 100 incidents have been recorded. The victims also include men, who have reported physical abuse. One complaint was documented by a crossdresser who was catcalled, Sivaraj reveals.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On the website, after clicking ‘Report Incident’, the visitor is redirected to a form that one is required to fill out with details like the location, date, time, description and nature of the incident (such as ‘Indecent exposure’, ‘Rape/Assault’ and ‘Stalking’). “Our primary intent is to understand where, when and under what conditions these crimes are happening,” says Sivaraj.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The findings from the recorded incidents are displayed on a map, which one can find on opening the website. A heat map shows where the major chunk of the assaults have occurred. Currently, Central Bengaluru, Indiranagar and Yelahanka have the highest number of incidents. Sivaraj clarifies that this is not a true representation of such crimes in the city. “Many incidents are not reported and not everyone has access to the Internet or knows of our website,” he explains.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Safe Yelli team is currently working with Reap Benefit, an organisation that provides tech solutions for civic issues, to design a WhatsApp bot.</p>.<p class="bodytext">To report an incident go to safeyelli.in</p>
<p class="bodytext">A group of students has created a website to report street harassment in Bengaluru. Called Safe Yelli, the site aims to map abuse and determine the areas where the occurrence of such incidents are high.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Safe Yelli was conceptualised and created by Adhavan Sivaraj and two other friends who are students at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology. Launched in 2021, the site was initially meant for students of Srishti and people in the Yelahanka area, where the institution is located. “A lot of the students who live in PGs in the area were reporting harassment,” shares Sivaraj. The incidents were being reported in informal WhatsApp groups but not to the police.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Recently, the website started accepting responses from victims across the city. Since it went live in 2021, close to 100 incidents have been recorded. The victims also include men, who have reported physical abuse. One complaint was documented by a crossdresser who was catcalled, Sivaraj reveals.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On the website, after clicking ‘Report Incident’, the visitor is redirected to a form that one is required to fill out with details like the location, date, time, description and nature of the incident (such as ‘Indecent exposure’, ‘Rape/Assault’ and ‘Stalking’). “Our primary intent is to understand where, when and under what conditions these crimes are happening,” says Sivaraj.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The findings from the recorded incidents are displayed on a map, which one can find on opening the website. A heat map shows where the major chunk of the assaults have occurred. Currently, Central Bengaluru, Indiranagar and Yelahanka have the highest number of incidents. Sivaraj clarifies that this is not a true representation of such crimes in the city. “Many incidents are not reported and not everyone has access to the Internet or knows of our website,” he explains.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Safe Yelli team is currently working with Reap Benefit, an organisation that provides tech solutions for civic issues, to design a WhatsApp bot.</p>.<p class="bodytext">To report an incident go to safeyelli.in</p>