VP Biden invited our client to launch their mobile safety app, OnWatch, today, April 18 at an event he hosted at the White House. The event highlighted the importance of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in light of the reauthorization vote.
You might remember hearing about OnWatch at the mHealth Summit in December. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius presented OnWatch as the winner of the Obama Administration-sponsored Apps Against Abuse Technology Challenge in her keynote address.
Our client, Jill Campbell, created this award-winning mobile app to help combat the exceedingly high incidences of sexual assault against young women on college campuses (the conservative number is 1 in 5 young women will be raped or assaulted while in college).
Award-‐winning App Combats Sexual Assault of Young Women on College Campuses
Washington, DC (April 18, 2012) -‐ OnWatch™, the award-‐winning mobile safety app and winner of the Obama Administration’s Apps Against Abuse Technology Challenge, launched today at the White House. The launch was part of a program highlighting the importance of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Vice President Biden said, “A personal electronic device becomes a powerful tool to help young women and men protect themselves, and their friends, from becoming victims of violence.” Lynn Rosenthal, White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, added, “Thank you to OnWatch™. The results far exceeded our expectation.”
Jill Campbell, Chairman of the Board of WatchMe 911, Inc., a Los Angeles-‐based mobile app development company, said, “I am deeply grateful to the Vice President and the Obama Administration for continuing to make this cultural epidemic a national priority. The statistic that 1 in 5 young women will be a victim of sexual assault while in college is unacceptable.” She continued, “I am proud that OnWatch™ will help so many young women.”
Campbell, a 67 year‐old mother and grandmother, whose primary business is her successful financial advisory firm in Los Angeles, is a complete anomaly in the young, male‐dominated world of technology and apps. She acknowledged, “I do stick out among all these young men. But trying to be a part of the solution for this issue is not about your age or your gender.”
The OnWatch™ app has 6 safety modes, all with GPS location‐aware functionality. With just 2 taps, users are connected to their preselected friends, 911 and their campus police. The app is available for download starting Wednesday, April 18 through the iTunes App Store. An Android version will be available soon.
