In Vitoria, Brazil, a city with the country’s highest female murder rate, a mobile “panic button” has been distributed to women in an effort to curtail domestic violence. Courts have begun issuing the devices to women with restraining orders against abusers. When activated, the device begins recording audio and also emits a GPS signal to alert police of the victim’s location. Officials report that since the beginning of the project, the specially trained response teams have always made it to a victim's location in under 10 minutes.
The project is credited with five convictions based on the recorded conversations. Officials are hopeful that the devices will assist with criminal prosecution and act as a deterrent to abusers.
Compiled from: Darlington, Shasta, Brazil – City Battles Domestic Violence with Mobile “Panic Buttons,” CNN (November 19, 2013).