2022 6th International Conference On Computing, Communication, Control And Automation (ICCUBEA)
Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering (PCCOE), Pune, India. Aug 26-27, 2022
FRNDY: A Women's Safety App
P. Premi
Department of Computer and Department of Computer and
Information Sciences Information Sciences
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Positive Computing Centre
2022 6th International Conference On Computing, Communication, Control And Automation (ICCUBEA) | 978-1-6654-8451-0/22/$31.00 ©2022 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICCUBEA54992.2022.10010815
Perak, Malaysia Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
premiparamanathan@gmail.com Perak, Malaysia
savitasugathan@utp.edu.my
Abstract— Women's security has always been a major
concern, and numerous potential solutions have been discussed
regarding how technology can be used to address the issue.
Currently, the rapid rise in smartphone usage has made it
possible to integrate personal security efficiently and effectively
with the help of hardware and software. Existing security
methods necessitate some form of human input and the use of
only pre-selected contacts. When it comes to tragic occurrences
involving women, the number is frighteningly high. Problems
can arise from a variety of situations, including women
walking on the street after work, going to the supermarket, or
a variety of other reasons when they are alone. There has been
a spike in women-related crimes in Malaysia as well.
Therefore, to enhance women's safety in Malaysia this project
suggests a mobile application that can come in handy for
women who find themselves in dangerous situations. When the
need arises, a single click on this application will recognize the
location using GPS and will send a message to the registered
contacts containing the location URL, as well as call the first
registered contact to assist the user in a difficult situation.
Authentication of their identity is also mandatory for this
application. The primary goal of this study is to ensure and
enhance personal safety. As a result, the primary goal of this
project is to make it easier for users to get assistance promptly.
In addition, a security pin is used as the login password to
verify the user's identity and prevent an anonymous or
malicious attack. This project makes use of the agile
methodology to make certain that testing is carried out in each
module. It creates opportunities to reevaluate the development
lifecycle to make sure the entire project fulfills the outcome
and operates well. After several iterations of refinement and
debugging, the final system is deemed bug-free.
Keywords—Women safety, Android application, Smartphone
I. INTRODUCTION
In today's society, women play critical roles not only at
home, but also in politics, economics, and nation-building.
Women's safety has long been a critical and sensitive issue in
our society. World Health Organization (WHO) reported that
close to one out of three women worldwide have been a
victim of assault be it physically, emotionally, or sexually
[1], [2]. There is not a single day that goes by without
hearing of an attack on a girl or a woman. Females being
murdered, molested, and raped is now a recurring headline
all across the globe. Women's safety is a problem
everywhere, be it in underdeveloped, developing, or
developed countries [3]. However, the numbers are
significantly high in low- and lower-middle-income
countries [1]. Violence against women is a serious act. To
add salt to the wound, these crimes are frequently justified by
blaming the victim [4]. Despite being ranked the fifth safest
country in the Asia Pacific region by the 2018 Global Peace
978-1-6654-8451-0/22/$31.00 ©2022 IEEE
Authorized licensed use limited to: UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA. Downloaded on April 08,2023 at 14:05:39 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
K.S. Savita N. Millatina
Department of Computer and
Information Sciences
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
Perak, Malaysia
millatina_19000957@utp.edu.my
Index, Malaysia continues to fall behind in terms of legal
protection and economic gender equity [5]. Some of the most
prevalent crimes against women in Malaysia are similar to
those in other countries, including sexual harassment,
domestic abuse, and workplace discrimination against
women. Malaysian government profiles reported that police
took allegations seriously and efforts were made to raise
awareness, but as long as women do not report crimes,
offenders will be able to escape or feel encouraged to
continue their behaviors [4].
Numerous preventative measures have been implemented
by the government to put an end to these misbehaving
activities, but they have had no effect on the increasing rate
of these crimes and have remained unaffected [4]. Thus, it is
sensible to provide an application that assists women in
efficiently and effectively overcoming this issue. In today's
society, the number of people who own smartphones has
increased rapidly, and thus a smartphone can be used
effectively for personal security or other types of protection.
The number of horrifying accidents has reawakened many to
the vital importance of addressing safety concerns, and as a
result, a slew of applications has been developed to provide
women with protection systems via their phones [6]. The
primary goal of the woman safety alert system is to provide a
quick medium of contact for assistance. This includes the
nearby police stations, relatives, or other nearby users
through the use of alert messages and location tracking.
Additionally, this application can be enhanced in the future
through the use of smart gadgets such as accessories and
smartwatches. A single click on this application recognizes
the location of a location by using GPS and sends a message
containing the location URL to the registered contacts, as
well as calling the first registered contact to assist the person
in a difficult situation [6].
When confronted with a potentially life-threatening
situation such as kidnapping, mugging, or robbery, the victim
has very little time to choose the best way out. Seeking help,
on the other hand, is the most effective method that the
victim can do in severe circumstances. The impact of this
violence includes injury, death, depression, PTSD, sexually
transmitted diseases, and unwanted pregnancy which then
leads to abortion [7]. Due to the growing safety concern,
mobile applications are being developed to include personal
safety measures. As of the point of this writing, researchers
only focused on women in Malaysia as a scope. Therefore,
this research would be on discussing how to minimize the
crime rates related to women and enhance women's safety in
Malaysia as well as spread awareness of the ever-increasing
crime rates against women.
1
 The project aimed to study the existing mobile
application for women's safety features and study the
effectiveness of smartphones in the context of women's
safety. This study will primarily focus on women from urban
areas in Malaysia. The study further emphasizes the
importance of women's safety in Malaysia by using data sets
that are based on the statistics of women's harassment &
violence cases. The result of this study is an application
made for women. This application allows women to reach
their destination safely while identifying safe and unsafe
areas. The development of this application also hopes to
spread awareness of the increasing dependency on safety
applications. The success of this project brings forth
meaningful help to those who are most likely to find
themselves in dangerous situations which could lead them to
be a victim of sexual harassment or sexual assault.
Additionally, this project contributes to the achievement of
one of the Sustainable Development Goals, goal 5, which is
to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
[8]. Achieving equal rights and opportunities for women and
girls across the globe sounds simple but the process itself is
an uphill climb. United Nations also highlighted the need for
giving women and girls the ability to live their life without
the constant weight of potential harassment and violence
looming over them. By 2030, gender equality will require
immediate action to address the numerous root causes of
discrimination that continue to limit women's rights in both
private and diverse societies.
II. RELATED WORK
A. Women's safety in public places
The meaning of urban life is best conveyed in a public
place. People often come together in public places like the
park or shopping malls every day and unfortunately, they
become victims of crime at times. A person needs to be able
to move around freely in a community to maintain a sense of
place and improve one's quality of life [9]. Several
environmental characteristics affect the safety of public
places, yet it is safety perception that plays a significant role
in making places appear safe or unsafe to people. Public
transportation, in particular, has long been a place where
women have been subjected to sexual harassment, and this
problem has not gone away.
Violence against women and girls, especially sexual
harassment in public places, is still largely ignored even
though violence in the private domain is now readily
recognized as a human rights violation [10]. Although not all
men are viewed pragmatically as perpetrators of violence
against women, all women are viewed as potential victims,
which ultimately reinforces the dominant discourse of safety
and protection [11]. When it comes to using public spaces,
women and men have distinctive methods from one another.
Women have traditionally been said to be more afraid of
urban environments than men are, in part because of the
differences in how men and women interact with and make
sense of these environments [9].
When a woman’s self-esteem and confidence are
threatened by the possibility of sexual harassment in the
public setting, their abilities to complete their frequently
necessary role as working women are harmed, and their
standing in the community is compromised, conserving the
established gender hierarchy. Theories about women's
relationships with space suggest that men seek to maintain
Authorized licensed use limited to: UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA. Downloaded on April 08,2023 at 14:05:39 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
the existing gender hierarchy by restricting women's access
to public space through sexual misconduct as a form of
violence against women. Not only does it cause
psychological and physical harm, but it also creates a threat
of possible intimidation and intrusion for women who
occupy public spaces, including public transportation [11].
B. Smartphone’s efficiency in enhancing women’s safety
Studies show that mobile technology is rapidly evolving
whereby mobile phone usage is increasing by 58%
annually[12]. The majority of smartphones are used for
personal purposes. Modern smartphones have features such
as GPS navigation, different sensors, a high-resolution digital
camera, high-speed internet access, powerful processing and
capacity, and long-lasting battery life. Smartphones running
on the Android operating system now account for a major
portion of the global market, leaving other platforms in the
dust. A personal safety triggering system is one of the many
types of systems on the market.
Studies have proven that people using smartphones have
increased rapidly and hence, a smartphone can be used
efficiently for personal security or various other protection
purposes [6]. Women's security practices today fall into a
variety of categories, ranging from android applications
developed for mobile phones to fashionable apparel that can
be worn and carried in daily life. The most commonly quoted
type of violence that technology could protect against is
sexual or physical assault (57.2%), followed by cyber or in-
person stalking (36.6%) and cyber or in-person harassment
(36.6%) (29.7%) [13]. Mobile phones, wearable devices,
applications, and social media were all used as protective
technologies (18.4%). Most of the articles mentioned in that
article discussed an individual's use of technology for
protection, rather than the development of policy solutions
involving technology. The ability of smartphones to
empower women appears to be growing all the time. What
has become clear is that, after a boom in interest in mobile
technology for women between 2010 and 2018, this
engagement appears to have diminished in recent years [13].
United Nations also discussed the use of technology to
handle violence against women cases[14]. An increasing
number of countries around the world have change the
method of handling thses cases to mostly online. Many new
products on the market can help a stalked or abused woman
discreetly which is vital if the abuser is an intimate partner
[13]. There might be a situation in which the person has to
travel alone a long distance at odd hours and perhaps even by
public transport. They may still face dangerous situations. At
such a time, having a personal safety application on your
phone would be wise. It might also give the user a boost of
confidence in carrying on with their journey. The fast
advancement of technology has ramifications for women and
girls that are both good and bad.
C. Existing Emergency Applications
1) bSafe
An application that allows the user to invite friends to
walk with them to avoid being alone on the way back home.
If a user does not check in for a predetermined amount of
time, the application will notify the user via an automated
alarm, and it will also notify their friends of the user’s
current location. When the SOS alarm is activated, a 10-
second video will begin to record. Additionally, bSafe has a
Fake Call feature that is not available on the other
applications discussed in this study. It is possible to use this
fake call function to make it easier for the user to get out of
a dangerous or uncomfortable situation by making a fake
call to themselves [15]. The interface of bSafe is as seen in
Figure 1.
Fig. 1. bSafe Application Interface
2) RapidSOS+
A highly effective emergency application was created by
three Harvard MBA students [15]. Similar to bSafe, this
application can also send out SOS alerts with a single touch,
but more interestingly, it can call 9-1-1 on behalf of a loved
one, transmitting their current location and information to the
nearest police station or law enforcement booths. The user’s
request can also be accelerated if necessary. Additionally, it
enables users to monitor their family members' safety via
GPS and to verify when they arrive at their destination.
Figure 2 shows the interface of RapisSOS+.
Fig. 2. RapidSOS+ Application Interface
III. METHODOLOGY
The data used in this study are collected from women
living in urban cities of Malaysia. The flow chart in Figure 3
depicts the entire prototype development process for
FRNDY. During the development of this mobile application,
certain workflow constraints were applied. The authors
created a simple prototype from a quick design, but it can be
improved later on after user testing.
Authorized licensed use limited to: UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA. Downloaded on April 08,2023 at 14:05:39 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Fig. 3. Prototype Development Flowchart
The methodology used in this study is divided into three
stages.
A. Research Planning and Analysis
Research on sexual harassment and violence against
women was conducted. Smartphone applications these days
are mainly made for Android or iOS platforms. The decision
has been made to develop an Android application due to it
being an open-sourced Linux-based software stack. Android
was also chosen due to statistics indicating that more users in
Malaysia use Android smartphones compared to iPhones
running iOS. Additionally, surveys on women's safety in
Malaysia have been conducted by authors. Data was
gathered from a variety of sources, including from the
Malaysian Women's Aid Organization. Data collected was
used to determine whether the project is feasible enough and
can be implemented successfully with the least amount of
risk.
B. Developing and Designing
The design and development stage required the authors
to download Android Studio, which is the official Integrated
Development Environment (IDE) for Android application
development. It is based on IntelliJ IDEA and requires
coding in XML, C++, and Java.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Data Gathering
A survey conducted on Microsoft Forms was carried out
to analyze women's safety in Malaysia. The data collected is
then summarized in a table. The respondents were given a
few scenarios and they were asked to answer the likelihood
rating of each scenario, from most likely to least likely to
experience. For example, from the results, we can see that
about 50% of the respondents are very likely to feel unsafe
when they walk alone in the streets. 34.4% of them feel that
it is very likely to encounter unwanted harassment from
strangers and 21.9% of them are worried that someone will
physically attack or hurt them.
This clearly shows that Malaysian women have been
exposed to sexual abuse or harassment which causes them to
think it is more likely for each scenario to occur. A part of
the data collected is shown in Figure 4.

Fig. 4. Scenario likelihood chart
The respondents were asked about the types of objects or
devices they carry with them during dangerous situations and
the bar chart in Figure 5 shows that only about 19 of them
carry things such as personal alarms, pepper spray, etc.
Meanwhile, the other respondents stated that they do not
carry anything with them. This could make them more
vulnerable to heinous crimes. Nowadays it has become a
necessity for a woman to carry self-defense objects wherever
they go.
Fig. 5. Self-defense or precaution measure chart
B. Proposed System
Figure 6 illustrates the data flow of the proposed system.
Fig. 6. Data flow for the FRNDY application
As shown above, information from the user such as
location is tracked by the GPS function built-in in the user’s
smartphone. With the help of Google Map’s API key, the
system will be able to share the user’s current location with
the saved contacts. The information also can be used to
perform the application’s functions such as fake calls, heat
maps, and call SOS due to any emergency.
C. Implementation
A system prototype was developed based on the results
of the survey analysis. It consists of a web, a mobile
application, and an Internet of Things (IoT) device. The web
application will be used by both the police department and
the Women Organization Center to track and manage rape
cases and keep victims informed. For the time being, the
Authorized licensed use limited to: UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA. Downloaded on April 08,2023 at 14:05:39 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
user interface of mobile applications is primarily geared
towards the users. The user interface for mobile applications
will require the user to log in or register. Figure 7 consists of
the login pages for the FRNDY application.
Fig. 7. User Interface – Main menu
The welcoming page of the application displays the
application name, “Frndy” and explains to the user what
Frndy is and how to use it. It gives a brief explanation of the
features that are available within the application to new
users. Once location services have been turned on, the user
can see their location on the screen. The pink button in the
middle allows the user to allow SOS mode when the
situation arises. It is then triggered by shaking their
smartphone. The contact button allows the user to add
followers where the followers will be able to see the user’s
live location and the following button will let the saved
contacts know that the user is being followed. Meanwhile,
the fake call button allows users to receive a fake call from
the application which allows them to use it during
threatening situations. Figure 8 illustrates the SOS mode in
the application.
Fig. 8. User Interface – SOS mode
When shake is detected, SOS mode is activated and the
screen will straight away display a button to call 999, the
emergency hotline in Malaysia. However, to prevent
accidentally calling due to unintentional shakes, the user
will be given the option to cancel the call. If the cancel
button is clicked, then the process is terminated
automatically. Next, if the user clicks the human icon on the
main menu, they will be led to their profile page where they
can update their profile picture, password, and PIN. When
the user updates their details here, it will also be updated in
the Firebase database for the application.
D. Impact and contribution
Although there are numerous emergency applications, the
majority of them require payment to unlock additional
features. For example, rapidSOS+ requires an annual
subscription fee of $49.99 US dollars for the family packet
and $29.99 US dollars for the individual packet. Women can
access immediate assistance through FRNDY if they
encounter a problem or are in a difficult situation. Users can
use the features of this application to determine whether the
areas they are traveling in or planning to travel in are safe or
not. Not only is this application useful for tracking, but it
also includes an SOS emergency alert. This emergency alert
feature can assist users in escaping dangerous situations or
even prevent unfortunate or uncomfortable events from
occurring.
The primary goal of this safety application is to send
alerts to individuals who can take action quickly. Instant
alerts can provide immediate assistance and help protect
women from becoming victims of assault. Additionally, this
application demonstrates the critical nature of having a
mobile application that can protect women from sexual
assault and raises awareness about women's safety in
Malaysia. Even though women's security applications cannot
make a change in society overnight, their continued use and
daily updates per requirements, as well as a heightened
awareness of security, will help the applications see a more
righteous future.
V. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK
FRNDY is a small, custom-built software application that
is simple to download and install on Android-running
smartphones. With cutting-edge hardware built-in in
smartphones these days, this application is hopeful to offer
an outstanding user experience. With the use of the latest
tools and concepts, the proposed design will tackle important
problems that women encounter. The significance of this
work is that it not only offers safety but also security through
a self-defense mechanism. Now, with the support of an
actual system implementation of the suggested model, the
crime against women can be put to an end. In summary, the
FRNDY application can be used to guarantee security on
daily commutes.
A. Future Work
The efficiency of this application can be improved by
giving it some extra features and linking it to a dedicated
server. In addition, improvements can be made on the
security aspect by incorporating the latest smart device
built-in technology, such as fingerprint recognition and
NFC. Fingerprints or NFC tags can be used by users to
check in more quickly and easily. In addition, the interface's
user-friendliness and the navigation steps on the page can be
improved and refreshed to keep users interested at all times.
Authorized licensed use limited to: UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA. Downloaded on April 08,2023 at 14:05:39 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
It is believed by the authors that the day is not too far away
when a specialized application like FRNDY will be able to
ensure complete safety for women on the go.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are grateful to the university administration
for their emotional and financial support. We would like to
express our appreciation to the anonymous reviewers for
their constructive feedback.
REFERENCES
[1] UN Women, “Facts and figures: Ending violence against women,”
UN Women, Feb. 2022. https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-
do/ending-violence-against-women/facts-and-figures
[2] World Health Organization (WHO), “Violence Against Women
Prevalence Estimates, 2018,” Geneva, Mar. 2021.
[3] V. Ceccato, “Women’s victimisation and safety in transit
environments,” Crime Prevention and Community Safety, vol. 19,
no. 3, pp. 163–167, 2017, doi: 10.1057/s41300-017-0024-5.
[4] A. Annuar, “Malaysia ranks near bottom in Asia Pacific for
women’s safety and opportunity,” Malay Mail, Kuala Lumpur,
Mar. 09, 2019.
[5] L. Tan, “Gender equality has improved to 71.4% in Malaysia; but
still behind Singapore, NZ, and Philippines,” Human Resources
Online, Nov. 18, 2021.
https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/gender-equality-has-
improved-to-71-4-in-malaysia-but-still-behind-singapore-nz-and-
philippines#:~:text=Using%20the%20Malaysia%20Gender%20Ga
p,0.714%20(71.4%25)%20in%202020.
[6] P. Bhanushali, R. Mange, D. Paras, and C. Bhole, “Women Safety
Android App,” International Research Journal of Engineering and
Technology (IRJET), vol. 5, no. 4, Apr. 2018.
[7] M. Guggisberg and Guggisberg, “The impact of violence against
women and girls: A life span analysis,” in Violence against Women
in the 21st Century: Challenges and Future Directions, 2018.
[8] United Nations, “Do you know all 17 SDGs?,” United Nations.
https://sdgs.un.org/goals
[9] F. Vera-Gray and L. Kelly, “Contested gendered space: Public
sexual harassment and women’s safety work,” in Crime and Fear
in Public Places, 1st ed., Routledge, 2020.
[10] J. Harrison, “Gender segregation on public transport in South Asia:
A critical evaluation of approaches for addressing harassment
against women,” Dissertation, University of London, London,
2012.
[11] N. Akter, A. B. Newaz, A. H. Shakara, and M. Al-Mamun, “A
Mobile Based Application for Journey Safety,” IOSR Journal of
Computer Engineering, vol. 19, pp. 39–45, Jan. 2017, doi:
10.9790/0661-1901023945.
[12] L. F. Cardoso, S. B. Sorenson, O. Webb, and S. Landers, “Recent
and emerging technologies: Implications for women’s safety,”
Technology in Society, vol. 58, p. 101108, 2019, doi:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2019.01.001.
[13] A. Satapathy, “Top 5 SOS apps for women,” Rediff, Dec. 21, 2012.
https://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/slide-show-1-gadgets-and-
gaming-top-5-sos-apps-for-women/20121221.htm
[14] UN Secretary General, “Intensification of efforts to eliminate all
forms of violence against women : report of the Secretary-
General,” New York, Jul. 2020.
[15] Techcocktail, “RapidSOS Aims to Save of Lives through Award-
Winning App,” Tech.co, Apr. 27,2015.
https://tech.co/news/rapidsos-emergency-app-2015-04