Homeward phone

The home phone is a volunteer -run telephone hotline in Germany , the caller should provide more security on routes that are perceived as threatening at night. A way home app fulfills the same function .

principle

Anabell Schuchhardt and Frances Berger came up with the idea of ​​the home-away phone in 2011. They had the experience that they felt safer on their way home at night if they had a phone call with a friend or family member while giving them their location. This would deter potential attackers and the police could be alerted in the event of an attack . Since someone in the circle of friends was not always available, the idea arose to provide such call options in an organized manner and to make them accessible to other people with mobile phones . The hotline has been available throughout Germany since the end of December 2013 on 030/12074182. The costs incurred are the usual tariffs for a call from the mobile phone to the landline network.

Apps on the way home work similarly. Some apps also offer virtual support from a friend or a professional team. The Swiss police generally welcome such apps, but criticize the fact that not all apps were set up in cooperation with the police and forward the emergency call directly to the local police; others may experience delays.

Origin in Germany

Research has shown that the police in Sweden already have such an offer . Inquiries to the police in Germany and the Berlin transport company remained without result. The two founders then operated the hotline themselves in a test phase and tried to finance the offer via the crowdfunding platform betterplace . With other volunteers with a free call center - Software can receive nationwide calls that reach beyond the previous time window is (Fridays and Saturdays from 22 to 2 pm) will be extended to other days of the week and free with further donations 0800 call number are possible. There are now five other volunteers working for the hotline, and calls are being received from all over Germany.

In 2020 there will be more than 50 volunteers, so that the times could be extended. The home phone is now available from Sunday to Thursday from 8 p.m. to midnight, and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Reactions

According to the police in Düsseldorf, a phone on the ear could also be the trigger for a robbery , because expensive smartphones are sometimes simply torn out of their users' hands. This risk can be minimized by using a headset .

The project was reported not only across Germany, but also in Austria , Switzerland and Hungary .

Austria

In 2016, the city of Graz also set up a home-away phone that is looked after by the local police . Graz also provides a Heimweg app, which u. a. can establish a connection to the phone on the way home and provide emergency numbers.

In October 2018 Wiener Neustadt also installed its own number, which, however, is forwarded to Graz.

Web links

• Official website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 5 safety apps for women who travel alone at night. In: genialetricks.de. Retrieved February 15, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Jara Helmi: Companion app for the way home: Why the police are not just excited about it. In: watson.ch. January 10, 2020, accessed February 15, 2020 . 
3. ↑ Heimwegtelefon project: “Fear is simply there” , Interview by Kathrin Schreck with Frances Berger in the daily newspaper on December 23, 2013, accessed on May 10, 2014.
4. ↑ Vera Zischke: Heimwegtelefon: Safe feeling on the way home , Westdeutsche Zeitung of April 10, 2014, accessed on May 10, 2014.
5. ^ Daniel Schaefer: With the "Heimwegtelefon" safely through the night on Abendblatt.de from January 15, 2014, accessed on May 10, 2014.
6. ↑ Website: [1]
7. ↑ Johannes Döbbelt: Heimweg-Telefon: getting home safely at night , DRadio Wissen from March 10, 2014, accessed on May 10, 2014.
8. ↑ Reporting in Austria, Switzerland and Hungary:
   • Get home safely with the "Heimwegtelefon" , brigitte.de from January 10, 2014, accessed on May 10, 2014.
   • Yvonne Lichtsteiner: Take me home safe: “Heimwegtelefon” accompanies women home , femininleben.ch from January 17, 2014, accessed on May 10, 2014.
   • Liza Lauda: Hotline for women: Heimwegtelefon , woman.at from January 23, 2014, accessed on May 10, 2014.
   • Home phone: We'll chat you home safely , Spiegel Online from March 15, 2014, accessed on May 10, 2014.
   • Accompanying people by phone: Just chatting away fear , Focus Online from March 17, 2013, accessed on May 10, 2014.
   • Diana Bula: The number for the way home , tagblatt.ch of March 28, 2014, accessed on May 10, 2014.
   • Get home safely: With the "Heimwegtelefon" ( Memento of the original from May 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on ffh.de from April 2, 2014, accessed on May 10, 2014. 
   • Fear in the dark: hotline helps on the way home ( memento of the original from May 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , heute.de, April 12, 2014, accessed May 10, 2014. 
9. ↑ Graz is the first city in Austria to offer the way home phone and app , the standard on November 3, 2016
10. ↑ "Heimweg-Telefon" is supposed to provide security , ORFon on October 16, 2018