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  Features

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  Gemini risk assessment

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  Gemini local help

Overview

Shedely ("she" for women's empowerment x "shield" for protection) addresses the critical issue of women's protection against human trafficking and exploitation, focusing on the crucial early warning period.

Impact & Relevance

The Issue

Women worldwide face persistent threats from human trafficking, exploitation, and gender-based violence. Suspicious job offers or unsafe environments often lack accessible, judgment-free tools for real-time risk assessment, especially in high-risk situations where access to personal devices or local contacts is limited.

Impact

Shedely empowers women to proactively manage their safety with real-time AI-driven risk assessments and discreet emergency support. By enabling women to assess potentially dangerous situations and contact local authorities, Shedely fosters confidence and helps prevent dangerous encounters before they escalate.

How Shedely Aligns with Gender Equality and Safety

Shedely’s mission aligns closely with UN Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. As the United Nations has stated, “gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.” Shedely tackles one of the most pressing facets of this goal: eliminating violence against women, including human trafficking, exploitation, and abuse.

Sexual violence and exploitation are among the greatest barriers to gender equality. Women and girls, often trapped in vulnerable situations, are frequently powerless against systemic inequalities. Shedely addresses this head-on by equipping women with AI-driven tools to identify danger, contact local authorities, and discreetly alert their emergency contacts. These features represent a tangible step toward empowering women to take control of their own safety.

In a world where 35 percent of women between the ages of 15-49 have experienced physical and/or sexual violence (source), Shedely provides real-time support to women facing imminent threats. By empowering women with the tools to act quickly and decisively, Shedely contributes to a safer, more equal world.

Positive Change Potential

Shedely has strong potential to create positive change in women’s lives by providing accessible tools for early risk recognition and response. Designed to be used anywhere, Shedely’s web-based platform requires no installation, making it easily accessible even on borrowed devices. Powered by Gemini AI, it scales efficiently with minimal infrastructure costs and respects user privacy through local data processing. By offering reliable, judgment-free support to women in vulnerable situations, Shedely has a clear, achievable path to enhancing women’s autonomy, safety, and well-being.

Greener Development

Shedely incorporates greener practices, including a dark theme to save battery on OLED screens (source) and reduced data transfer by processing information locally without storing user prompts. These choices enhance sustainability, protect user privacy, and make Shedely both eco-friendly and cost-effective.

Promoting Gender Equality

Human trafficking and exploitation disproportionately impact women and girls, who make up about 71% of all trafficking victims worldwide (source).

Shedely directly addresses this disparity by equipping women with tools to recognize and avoid risks, promoting independence and safety. By enabling women to proactively protect themselves, Shedely challenges stereotypes of women as passive victims, supporting their rights to autonomy, safety, and equality.

Innovation

Shedely transforms the approach to women's safety by focusing on prevention rather than just response. While most existing solutions focus on helping after incidents occur, Shedely empowers women to identify and avoid dangerous situations before they escalate. AI-powered risk assessments in Shedely represent a major advancement in women’s safety. Traditional safety tools often rely on static guidelines or delayed human response, while Shedely’s real-time, personalized AI analysis provides immediate, tailored guidance based on user-reported inputs. This approach goes beyond generic safety advice, equipping users to make informed decisions in critical moments.

The value of AI in risk management is backed up by research, such as the OECD, which highlights AI’s adaptability in promoting trust by aligning with accountability principles (source). Similarly, McKinsey emphasizes that embedding risk management in AI fosters consistent, values-driven solutions (source). Shedely leverages this innovation to offer context-specific safety recommendations, empowering women with proactive, reliable support.

Core Features

AI-Powered Risk Assessments

In real time, Shedely's AI evaluates situations that may pose a threat to women. Whether it's a job offer that raises suspicion or a meeting that feels off, the app offers actionable insights through a series of pre-defined questions as well as custom AI-generated questions based on the given input.

Emergency Mode

Shedely transforms itself into a seemingly innocent music player when women need it most. A long press on the artist avatar can silently trigger an emergency SMS, sending the user’s location to a pre-designated contact.

Local Help and Emergency Services

Using location data, Shedely generates a list of nearby authorities and provides key phrases to use in emergency situations—essential for those who may find themselves in unfamiliar territory. You don't need to know your location ( not even what country you're in) or worry about what to say when asking for help - which can be really hard when you're stressed. Just open the app with location enabled and Shedely will generate everything for you.

No Installation Needed

During human trafficking or similar illegal exploitation, women and girls often find themselves without access to their phones, with their only option being to use someone else's device. Shedely makes help accessible through any web browser - no app installation required. A simple URL—shedely.web.app—is all women need to remember to get help instantly. For example, during a bathroom break at a gas station or airport, they can quickly borrow someone's phone and immediately access local help services.

Privacy and Scalability

The app's AI risk assessment system operates without collecting or storing sensitive user information – all user inputs and location data are processed solely through immediate Gemini prompts via secure HTTPS. Location and other inputs are not stored on our servers or shared with analytics. The scalability is ensured through the serverless architecture and Gemini AI integration, while its sustainability is supported by minimal infrastructure costs.

To maintain transparency, a Privacy Policy page is available in the app settings, clearly outlining how we handle data. This page informs users about data collection practices, usage, and storage, reinforcing our commitment to user privacy and control.

Intersectional Challenges

Shedely overcomes intersectional challenges with its web-based, no-installation design, providing accessible safety tools to women across diverse social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. Fully responsive for both desktop and mobile browsers, Shedely operates independently of app stores, ensuring availability even in regions with restricted access to certain platforms.

Competitor Analysis

The competitor analysis revealed that while many women's safety apps offer features like location sharing, panic buttons, and community reporting, Shedely distinguishes itself through its AI-powered risk assessments and accessibility via web browsers. These unique features enable proactive safety management and ensure that users can access support even without personal devices. By focusing on prevention and broad accessibility, Shedely addresses critical gaps in existing solutions, providing women with innovative tools to enhance their safety and autonomy.

Feature/Function	Shedely	bSafe	My SafetiPin	Noonlight	Hollaback!	Circle of 6	iSharing	Shake2Safety	SafeUP	Life360
Accessible on iOS	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓		✓	✓
Accessible on Android	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Accessible via Desktop Web	✓
AI-Powered Risk Assessments	✓
Hidden Emergency Mode	✓	✓		✓		✓
Local Help and Emergency Services	✓	✓		✓		✓
Location Sharing	✓	✓	✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Community Reporting			✓		✓				✓
Panic Button		✓		✓				✓
Fake Call Feature		✓				✓		✓
Live Location for Assistance	✓	✓		✓			✓		✓	✓
Safety Score for Areas			✓

Asset Licensing Information

All image assets contained within this application are original works created by the author and do not infringe upon any third-party intellectual property rights.

Built With

• firebase
• flutter
• gemini