App to report sexual harassment runs out of funding

A mobile application to help women report incidents of sexual harassment around Brussels has been discontinued due to lack of funding.

Touche Pas à Ma Pote (don't touch my friend) made it possible to alert police - and other nearby app users - to incidents of street harassment and sexual violence and was inspired by Handsaway, a similar service in France.

It received two years of public funding in 2017 from the Brussels and Walloon regions and, after launching in March 2018, attracted 2,480 downloads - short of the 6,000 target. The app was used 100 times by women to report incidents.

"Our not-for-profit association no longer has the means to ensure the ongoing licensing and maintenance of this application," said Touche Pas à Ma Pote president Béa Ercolini.

The organisation hopes the app can be resurrected by the end of the year. It plans to appeal to private backers - and a Growfunding campaign will also be launched shortly.