Josh’s #SafeSwipe campaign empowers women to take control of their safety during night commutes

The campaign aims at helping women feel safe while travelling alone at night.

Scrolling through social media during commutes is now a routine for most of us. While this may be an effective way to utilise our time during commutes, Josh, the short video app, has leveraged this habit to conceptualise a campaign aimed at helping women feel safe while travelling alone at night. The #SafeSwipe campaign, launched on the account of International Women’s Day, is directed at enhancing women’s safety in India particularly during late night commutes.

As a part of this campaign, Josh has launched a series of semi-interactive short-videos disguised as phone calls wherein the user can interact with the video as though they are receiving a call from a loved one. In these videos, creators disguised as mothers, fathers, friends and even relatives in the police ask the user a series of questions pertaining to their whereabouts while a dialogue box prompts to the user what their reply should be. These videos have been conceptualised taking into consideration over 50 real situations a woman may find herself in, from a cab driver taking a different route and making unscheduled stops to cab rides in bad weather and feeling uncomfortable in a cab. The main purpose of this campaign is to alert and warn cab drivers that their female passenger’s whereabouts is being tracked by her loved ones.

“As a community, we have a shared responsibility to create a safer environment for everyone, especially women. At Josh, we believe that technology can play a significant role in empowering women and ensuring their safety. It is with this conviction that we launch the #SafeSwipe campaign, as we aim to empower and enhance women’s safety in India. This campaign is a reflection of our commitment to develop innovative solutions and leverage our platform’s wide reach and capabilities to create real positive impact. We hope that Josh users make use of this feature to feel safe during their commutes"said Samir Vora, chief marketing officer, VerSe Innovation.

As the campaign witnessed strong engagement on the Josh app, users started requesting for customised videos which led to an increase in the creation of user generated content. Leveraging the platform’s rich tech stack and data capabilities, Josh mapped out deserted areas in urban cities and pushed notifications to women in those areas to alert them about the #SafeSwipe feature. Further awareness was created by placing digital boards in pubs, offices and residential societies. This has resulted in a 28% increase in app downloads and over 98,000 women using #SafeSwipe.