Street Harassment and the Role of Technology in Tackling it

25 May 2023
 | 
Author: HSD Foundation
From intrusive comments to physical intimidation and violence, street harassment has a significant impact on feelings of safety and well-being. It is both a sensitive issue and a complex problem that is high up on city safety agendas. Is technology a possible solution? 
 
On 17 May, 25 people from different communities, governments and companies came together to learn about and discuss street harassment. Discussion topics included definition, victims, perpetrators and forms of street harassment, as well as the role of technology, particularly in terms of awareness, prevention, reporting and intervention.
 
Three examples of technological solutions were presented. Robert van Brakel from C3Group presented the Stop Intimidatie app, Thomas Alflen and Nick Mulder from Oddity.ai presented their AI-driven violence detection programme, and Geert Kruiskamp from the police (Cluster Sensing) outlined the possibilities of combining different data sources.
 
All presentations emphasised that technology alone is not the solution, but it can certainly contribute to tackling street harassment. The ethical and privacy aspects of using technology were also highlighted. Participants at the meeting are in the process of researching street harassment and defining a policy to address the issue. 
 
Impact Coalition Safety & Security (ICSS)
The event was organised by the Impact Coalition Safety & Security: a collaboration between municipalities, police, knowledge institutions, companies, VNG and HSD Office. Want to know more about ICSS, this meeting or other ICSS activities? Visit: Veilige Smart Cities
 
VNG Principles of Digital Society 
Did you know that earlier this year all Dutch municipalities agreed on the so-called Principes Digitale Veiligheid (Principles of Digital Society)? These principles include agreements on the exchange and storage of data, such as camera images. More information can be found on the website of VNG (Association of Dutch Municipalities).

HSD Partners involved

More Interviews

All interviews