An interview with Emma Kay, Founder of WalkSafe
By Meghna Warrier
Figures from the Office for National Statistics latest survey, shows that people feel less safe walking alone in all settings after dark than during the day, with women feeling less safe than men. The data, collected between 16th of February and 13 March 2022, helps understand how public perceptions of safety have changed, comparing the latest findings with those from a previous survey in June 2021. 58% of women, aged between 16 to 34 years old, do not feel safe while walking or taking public transports at night. A number that is pushing more and more people and organizations to develop apps and solutions that are helping the public proactively deal with their concerns.
Emma Kay is the founder of WalkSafe, “the leading safety app in the UK running for over 2 years now”. WalkSafe allows users to plan safer routes to destinations especially when walking alone late at night. It is designed to alert users to danger zones by using information from crime reports. I want to share her inspiring story on how she formed her team and her advice to young women on how they can support each other to help tackle harassment and gender violence.
As many founders and entrepreneurs Emma saw a challenge, a problem, and she decided to find a solution. As a victim herself of cat-calling and harassment, she reflected on how these circumstances “really shapes how you feel when you leave the house”. Becoming a mother was another reason for Emma to take action. “It was the birth of my daughter the moment where I thought I didn’t want this for her. I looked at her and I couldn’t imagine living in a world where she should put up with stuff like I did. I think that WalkSafe was born out of a desire to try and change. If we start now, the life my daughter could lead in two years time will be quite different.”
I asked Emma about her successes and challenges to get to where she is today. She described securing funding as both a strength and a weakness. “Securing a big amount is always difficult. Luckily, we have been supported by Fearless Adventures, our awesome investment group. It’s a double edged sword and it’s such hard work. The process of gaining funding is very consuming so it feels like a whole other job on top of your day job.” Another success and challenge for her was “probably being heavily pregnant or having a new born baby. It’s wonderful and it gives me a sense of purpose doing this but at the same it’s so hard. Finding the balance between family and work can be a real challenge.”
Being a founder is not an easy job, maintaining a work-life balance is important, and Emma found that exercise was the right tool for her. “It obligates me to have some time to focus on myself which is not something I have as a mum or as a founder. I feel like you neglect yourself a lot so that forces me to have that half an hour or 45 minutes for myself at the gym. Other than that I love a hot bath but I generally take my phone with me to look through emails!”
As a woman in tech, Emma had to deal with biases and assumptions, “It is a very male dominated industry. At the beginning. I struggled to find a voice and I thought because I hadn’t done this before that meant that I didn’t have the credentials to speak up. I felt like I was usually in a room where my advice wasn’t important or that I didn’t know what I was talking about. I discovered a lot of limiting beliefs that held me back. It wasn’t until the beginning of this year when I decided I was not going to do this anymore. I’m here because I know what I’m talking about. Everything is now progressing far more quickly because I know I can do it. I don’t need to look at anyone else to tell me what I can do. I think that means people treat me differently now. It’s about having confidence and self belief which changes people’s perspective.”
Since Emma started WalkSafe, she has increasingly noticed other inspirational women. “I think it’s so wonderful to see women doing things on their own terms and being bold. I’ve probably taken more notice of people now more than ever and of what they are up to. I’m really fortunate that on my team I have got an incredible adviser to WalkSafe who is a former deputy assistant commissioner from the Metropolitan Police. Her experience is simply phenomenal and I’m really lucky because I get to work with her. She has taught me an awful lot and I really admire what she has created. I could probably say if I needed anything I know that she would be able to steer me in the right direction although I don’t know whether she is aware of that. She is my go to person and my mentor.”
Launched in December 2020, WalkSafe works nationwide and it’s linked to local police data, but you can also report crimes, or anything else you notice in your area to help other users. It also lets you tap a discreet button on your phone screen to alert loved ones if you feel unsafe.
“The journey has been a fast one and it’s been really exciting full of ups and downs. We have gained over half a million downloads since we began and we are growing quickly. We’ve got a really exciting team. We are more than an app. Actually, we recently created our own safety awareness seminars. One area I’ve been focused on in the last year has also been looking at the parts people can play within these big businesses. So we are currently developing a web product for corporations to meet their duty of care needs in the workplace. Companies need to acknowledge that they’ve got a lot of young girls locking up their stores late at night, and opening them first thing in the morning. They have got to get to work through unsavory routes and buses. They need to start thinking about their role in the workplace, because we talk about health and safety all the time but we need to start thinking about personal safety as well.”
Safety on the streets according to Emma is “something that we overlook. I think we must stay alert and I hate that I have to keep saying that. It annoys me that we generally have to be hyper vigilant when it should be the case that people don’t attack other people. We shouldn’t have to worry about predators but sadly that’s not the world we live in.”
In a report published by the Office for National Statistics, one third of women and 19% of men reported having experienced harassment over the past year. The government and police are increasingly trying to adopt measures to tackle violence against women. “Sadly the way victims are treated depends on where they live. It’s a postcode lottery as to how a victim is supported by the police force. Obviously some boroughs have more funding and others have more resources, and they don’t tend to treat victims the same across the board – and that’s very frustrating. Fundamentally there needs to be an overhaul of the system so that everyone is treated the same. It shouldn’t be about getting treated differently based on where you live. We need more support for victims and more counseling. What they have gone through is hard enough, I don’t believe the process of reporting makes it any easier.
We need tough sentencing. I know the courts are backlogged at the moment. I know that more needs to be done to bring about justice. I think as a victim if you knew that it was going to take you on average two years for your perpetrator to see court, would you do it? I know we tell them all the time to report these things but knowing that the process will be horrible and that it will take too long doesn’t instill a lot of faith. We need to deal with the criminal justice side and also work on restoring people’s faith in the police. After the Sarah Everard vigil and the circumstances surrounding it, I just think sadly they have a bit of work to do and it’s going to take a while.”
“It leads me onto the next thing which is that there are short, medium and long term solutions. I know Rishi Sunak was promising more money towards the cause of prevention of violence against women and girls. It’s such a hot topic but until these things happen there will always be a place for a short term solution which is our app. I know that this is our sticking plaster and we need more education going towards tackling misogyny in schools. Until these societal changes actually happen there will always be a place for the short term fix to help people feel safer in the moment. I really feel that this is where we come in and we can provide that solution.”
Her advice to the readers who may be feeling unsafe in the streets is to “stay vigilant and be aware of your surroundings. Don’t put your head down looking at your phone with your headphones on. We all feel tired and want that escapism but it’s important to be alert. Trust your instinct. How many times do you look back at something and think your intuition alerted you and you gave them the benefit of the doubt? I think girls constantly feel that they have to be polite to the creepy old man or make them feel comfortable. Now I’ve got a daughter so I say to people all the time “it’s okay to be rude, you’ve got my permission to make a fuss”. If someone is creeping you out and being relentless, you don’t have to sit there and take it. Remove yourself, make a fuss, do something. I think we as women usually overlook our instinct when it can help us to keep us safer.”
“One thing I’ve been talking a lot about in my safety awareness programs is being an active bystander. Sometimes it’s not always safe to do so and that’s when you need to call for assistance but being a fellow ally or showing up for someone is my maxim. It’s part of the 4 Ds of bystander intervention: Direct, Distract, Delegate and Delay. It’s important to follow these stages to help someone. Say you’re on a packed train and you can see someone is being harassed, there are multiple ways you can deal with it to help and to be an active observer. I know it’s hard and we all find confrontation hard. You could be that person to just drop your keys and go “oh sorry are you okay” and the other person would reply “oh it’s you I didn’t know it was you” even though they didn’t know it was you. Making up a lie in the moment would allow the other person to know what’s going on. It could change the course of what could potentially happen and I think that could be a really helpful way of showing up within the world for someone else. You see that a lot in bars people are being harassed and bartenders are on receipt – for instance, if you need anything then ask for this particular shot. We are all becoming wiser to it now and we’re all acknowledging it’s out there so we can all help.”
“I think this app shouldn’t have to exist. I hope in the future our app will be redundant. I hope we all start to feel safer on our streets.” concluded Emma. “If that happens, that would be a very happy day for me.”
