As parents, we are resigned to a life of worry. And like it or not, our daughters must take extra precautions to stay safe. It’s not fair—but it’s the reality of the world we live in, and frankly, the world we have always lived in.
A Cary woman has created a smart watch that she believes can help protect young women—especially those heading off to college. It’s called the Guardian Band. It does everything a smart watch does, but it has an added feature that allows you to instantly stream video, audio and your location to a group of people you choose with the touch of a button.
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“As soon as you press your SOS button, video is immediately streamed to your Guardian network that you set up when you receive the watch,” said creator Lisa Geyer. “Our goal is to prevent crimes. No one wants to be on camera being able to be identified in court. Every ten seconds your Guardian network will receive video and audio and your GPS location.”
Geyer believes the watch can be best used by women doing any activity alone-walking across a dark parking lot, jogging on a trail, or taking a ride-share service like Uber. These are all things college students do on a regular basis.
The watch already has some pretty strong endorsements from women who have been the victims of attacks. I spoke to a Raleigh woman who was dragged into an alley in New York City by a man. There were four other men there waiting to rape her.
“I’ve been a victim of sexual assault and I want to find a way to empower women to take back control of their lives,” she said. “Every woman knows what it is like to be walking down the street and you suddenly get that sense that something’s just wrong. You know someone is following maybe a little too closely. You know something is up.”
Luckily, a loud noise from a passing truck distracted the men, and the woman was able to break free and run away. It all happened so fast, the she wasn’t able to identify her attackers. They were never caught. She believes if there had been a watch on the market like this one at the time, she would have had a better chance of getting rescued and of identifying her attackers.
“If all I had to do was reach up and push this button, immediately everyone in my Guardian network would have known my coordinates. They could have called the police, and they would have had video streaming to them constantly showing what was happening to me,” she said. “And then we would have had the suspects’ faces on video, and then I could have gone to the police and might actually have had results for what happened.”
It’s just one more tool to protect women, especially young women, in a world where risk is inevitable and there are no guarantees of safety.
The watch will go on sale starting Jan. 1 at a cost of $175. There will be a $40 service fee per month. To learn more go to Guardian Band's website.
Amanda is the mom of two, a reporter for WRAL-TV and the author of several books, including some on motherhood. Find her here on Mondays.