Thought by the United Nations to be one of the most common forms of human rights violations, sexual abuse, assault, and harassment statistics are some of the highest and most dire in the world. Considering sexual assault “a disease in our society, which needs an immediate cure,” MIT researcher Manisha Mohan developed a device called Intrepid to help combat this scourge.
Aiming to combat child sexual abuse, college campus assault and abuse of the elderly and disabled, Intrepid is a range of smart stickers that is reportedly able to detect, communicate and ultimately help to prevent sexual assault. Practical and unobtrusive in its design, the stickers are easily attached to any piece of clothing and can withstand a significant amount of wear and tear – even if accidentally put through the wash cycle.
Intrepid works in two different modes: ‘active’ or ‘passive’. The ‘active’ mode is meant for instances in which the victim is unconscious or is unable to fight against their attacker – in the case of infants, intoxicated people or the elderly. The ‘passive’ mode is used when the victim is in the position to self-trigger the the safety mechanism themselves.
Designed based upon the input of actual sexual assault survivors, the stickers are connected to an app on the user's smartphone. In the event that their clothes are being forcibly removed, the device will immediately send an alert to five pre-selected contacts on that person's phone. The connected app is also able record the encounter in real-time, to aid in any future legal proceedings.
To learn more about this remarkable device, watch the video below or visit the MIT website.
