The United States of America is a nation which is a home to two totally different races, the blacks and the whites. The blacks had never imagined that they will ever be able to witness traces of racial equality in their lifetime. And this fear of race, gained a ground after the New Orleans Hurricane of 2005. But, the political outlook of the blacks has changed dramatically during the past ten years especially from the helplessness of Hurricane Katrina to the election of the first black president.

a. Blacks and Whites: Live together but in a different world

In the past decade, blacks have been racially discriminated in US. The way an African-American is treated in the nation, is totally different from that of a white. The blacks had left all hopes of being treated equally as the Whites, after the Hurricane of 2005. A study says that after the hurricane only 20% of the African-Americans believed that the United States would be ever able to get free of the chains of racial discrimination.

b. New beginning

After the election of the first black president of US, Mr. Barack Obama, more than half of the community was optimistic about the fact that they would enjoy equal status very soon. Whites were even more optimistic about racial harmony. But, the anticipated results have not been achieved. As the economy has suffered in the past years, African-Americans continue to suffer from racial discrimination and poverty.

Obama’s election was considered as the country entering post racial period. Blacks have the power to change the policies of the United States as their proportion is steadily increasing in the electorate. With the advent of social media, it is expected that the young people will provide new momentum to this movement by expressing their thoughts and ideas in US presidential elections.

Can mobile apps prevent acts of violence against women? Sometime back, a Voice of America video raised this question while presenting a mobile app, which can aid women in panic situations. The app provides a new approach to make women feel safer, and keep them under the watch of their loved ones. It is called the ‘Fight back’ app, especially designed for women living in areas where their safety is a government recognized concern.

The app works with a GPS system, which constantly signals the location of the device. The interface has a panic button, which when pressed sends a message to a customized list of people with the exact location of the device. For women, this can certainly come handy in a problematic situation, but their safety will depend upon the reaction time of their loved ones.

Thus, the question remains the same; can this mobile app or any other similar mobile app make a difference? The developers of such apps feel that these apps should be an element of a broader solution strategy. But, it’s not just strangers in the dark that women should be afraid of. Research reveals that 69 percent women have been physically assaulted by an intimate partner, and 40 to 70 percent of female murders too have been committed by intimate partners.

Clearly, women are vulnerable to more than one situation. Among the major reasons, which make women feel unsafe, is the lack of government safety measures. The developing company of ‘Fight Back’ does not offer a public monitoring service, which would make this app more useful. Hence, it cannot be concluded that such apps can bring a significant change in women’s safety. For what it’s worth, such apps can help the authorities to map areas with more cases of assaults on women, and take proper measures to bring the situation under control.

The increasing use of mobile app by women definitely indicates how they are seeking for safety measures that would keep them safe and protected. It sheds light on how women fear their safety even in crowded neighborhoods. But, to find a solution to this major social injustice, we would need more than just a mobile app.

The White Ribbon Day is held every year on 25th November. It is an awareness campaign which highlights the violence against women and strives to discourage people from resorting to violence against women. Campbell Newman, the leader of the Liberal National Party of Queensland, have conformed that his party is committed to wipe out any form of violence against women. On the White Ribbon Day, Newman and all Opposition MPs took an oath to never commit or remain silent about any violence against women.

It is to be noted here that Queensland has the highest rate of homicides that resulted from domestic violence. It is very sad to note that 1 out of every 3 females (over the age of 15) will be a victim of violence and 1 out 5 will be a victim of sexual violence. These are really depressing statistics and the LNP commitment is very vital in this respect.

Newman is aware that all these oaths and commitment will mean nothing if practical plans are not in place. The pledge to protect women from violence is commendable but more needs to be done to instill confidence among the women in Queensland and Australia in general. He has urged all Queenslanders to honor the White Ribbon Day and support all measures that are in place and will be taken to eradicate all types of violence against women.

The Liberal National Party has repeated several times that they have total commitment towards protecting women and children from domestic violence. They have urged the victims to speak out so that the offenders can be easily booked. There are plans to undertake measures so that it becomes easier to identify potential offenders and stop their bad or abusive behaviors. In order to implement the pledge successfully the LNP expects support from all quarters and early intervention and detection of suspect behavior.

An independent United Nations human rights expert on an exploratory visit to Italy has advised the policy makers to formulate a policy that ensures to protect the women from violence and ensure that there is no gender inequality and discrimination against women.

Places visited

Rashida Manjoo, UN Special Rapporteur, on a 12 day trip to the Mediterranean nation toured various anti violence shelters throughout the country. Rome, Milan and Naples were on her priority list and she also visited camps for Sinti and Roma communities.

Observations made

As per her findings, most cases of domestic violence go unreported as the patriarchal society does not essentially consider domestic violence a serious crime. Economic dependency of the women on the family and their fear that their request for justice will go unheard with the government authorities makes women silent sufferers.

The legal framework is not strong enough, giving the perpetrators easy chance of escaping the noose of the law. The compensation for women victims is also marginal. This also demotivates the women to register a complaint with the authorities.

Ray of hope

However, the observations made by Rashida Manjoo does have a ray of hope. As per her observation, Italy still has vast expertise and can offer legal, social and economic assistance in case of domestic violence. This is also applicable to other forms of violence both in private and public sector.

She ended her visit with a positive note urging the lawmakers to promote a policy that advocates promotion of human rights for everyone. The violence against women should be on the national agenda, thereby ensuring comprehensive protection to women, in case of any violation.

The findings will be presented by Rashida Manjoo in the June 2012 session of United Nation Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Violence against women in any form is a serious crime. The visit by Rashida Manjoo has come as a ray of hope for the women in Italy who are subjected to domestic violence.