Advertisement
News

BT is still working on its controversial 888 ‘Walk Me Home’ app to protect women

The £50million women’s safety app proposed last year was backed by home secretary Priti Patel but criticised by campaigners.

BT is still working on its controversial £50million app to protect women walking home and says talks with the Home Office are ongoing.

The 888 ‘Walk Me Home’ service was proposed in October following the murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa, which BT’s chief executive Philip Jansen said filled him with “outrage and disgust”.

The idea was criticised by politicians and women’s safety campaigners, who said it focused on protecting women rather than tackling the root causes of violence against women, and that such apps already existed. Jansen defended the idea, saying it could act as a “small deterrent”.

And it had another supporter in home secretary Priti Patel, who told the Daily Mail in October it was “exactly the kind of innovative scheme which would be good to get going as soon as we can”. She added: “I’m now looking at it with my team and liaising with BT.”

The app, which original proposals estimated could be ready by Christmas, would reportedly allow users to opt in to a GPS tracking system that would trigger an alert to a fast responder team if they did not reach their destination on time. 

A BT spokesperson told The Big Issue: “Our technical development teams are now working on developing proposals and we will continue to discuss this with the Home Office.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

They added: “Our intention is for this to be a collaborative effort between government, telecommunications industry, key stakeholders such as the police and Ofcom and, of course, groups campaigning on the personal safety of women and other individuals.” 

Reacting to the proposed app last year, Jamie Klingler, co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Instead of spending £50 million on this new fandangled idea – which is really an old idea – 999 needs to work for us.”

Klingler said the fact it was still in development was “yet another way this government fails women.”

She told The Big Issue: “Creating a private system because the one that is in place isn’t good enough is laughable – especially when 888 could be used to track, stalk and further victimise women.

“Seeing how well track and trace went, I personally love the idea of undertrained incompetent men having my personal details and whereabouts.”

The Women’s Equality Party called the proposed service “just another thing for women to do to try to keep themselves safe,” saying that it was indicative of the government’s belief that it is women’s responsibility to avoid violence.

And Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner suggested instead of tracking women’s movements, “how about the government actually tackles male violence instead?”.

Following the criticism last year, Jansen appeared on Radio 4’s Today programme where he was asked about claims the app would not stop violence against women in the streets. He said: “No, I think it’s possible that if it’s known that people are using a triple eight service, that it will form some form of small deterrent.

“If it would stop one attack, one murder, one abduction, I think it’s worth it.”

When it was suggested the app would again put the onus on women to protect themselves rather than making an effort to stop male violence, he replied: “I completely agree with that and this is just one small idea which I think can help.”

Klingler says that neither she, nor Reclaim These Streets – the campaign group she co-founded to “make ‘text me when you get home’ a thing of the past” – had been contacted by BT or the Home Office regarding the project. 

The Home Office declined to comment. 

Advertisement

Sign our petition to keep people in their homes

Urgent action is needed to prevent even more people being pushed into homelessness.  A secure home is the first step in addressing the cruel cycle of poverty to ensure people can fulfil their potential. Join us to keep people in their homes.

Recommended for you

Read All
Homeless charity transforms Ford Transit van to help rough sleepers with food, hygiene and shelter
Rough sleeping

Homeless charity transforms Ford Transit van to help rough sleepers with food, hygiene and shelter

How people are turning to converted vehicles and DIY homes to beat UK's housing crisis
Housing

How people are turning to converted vehicles and DIY homes to beat UK's housing crisis

'He begged mummy to take him home': Autistic man 'abused' while being kept in mental hospital for six years
Mental Health Act

'He begged mummy to take him home': Autistic man 'abused' while being kept in mental hospital for six years

Sharing is caring: How co-housing could be another piece of the puzzle in solving UK housing crisis
Housing

Sharing is caring: How co-housing could be another piece of the puzzle in solving UK housing crisis

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023
3.

Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue