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Athena Personal Safety Wearables
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Published: Aug 09, 2018
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The male Achilles heel is located between his legs. Sadly, it just won’t stay there. It acts out. So there are Peeping Toms. Unwanted flirts. Smut talkers. Grabbers. And then the aggression ratchets up, and the felonies begin. Rape. Murder.
Toxic men have always been with us. But after decades of female empowerment, they seem to believe that the pendulum has swung back. Thanks in part to the Grabber-in-Chief, they’re feeling freer to express themselves. For them it’s a man’s world again. And that makes every woman a target. The mom on her way to a yoga class, the millennial out for a run, the teen in a tank top — at any moment, some id-liberated Neanderthal is thinking he might just like a taste of that.
The mission of ROAR, which makes Athena Safety Wearables, is to change the climate of violence against women “by empowering people to feel safe and their best selves.” Athena is not, for ROAR, an anti-rape device. It’s technology in the service of cultural transformation. ROAR sees men as partners in this effort. They’re not, they emphasize, fighting against men, they’re working together as a society.
In that mission, I’m all in. But my first priority is stopping these assholes. And making them pay.
Emotionally, I’m partial to the solution that Denzel Washington, in “The Equalizer 2,” announces to the men who murdered his friend: “I’m going to kill all of you — but the thing that makes me sad is that I can only do it once.”
In the real world, I’m buying Athena Safety Wearables for the women I love most, sending this review to my closest female friends, and urging them to forward it to their friends.
The Athena — appropriately named after the Greek goddess associated with wisdom and warfare — does two things.
In silent mode, pressing the button 3 times sends a message to your pre-selected contacts, indicating that you’re in trouble and giving your location. That stalker following you on a deserted street won’t know your friends have called the police for you until the squad car rolls up. (Yes, it should directly call 911. It doesn’t. The creators say that’s coming.)
In alarm mode, the device sends an emergency message to your contacts — and emits a 90+ decibel alarm.
Do your contacts need to download the app to get your message? No. Does Athena work on most phones? Yes: iPhones running iOS 9 and later, and Android phones running Android 6.0.1 and later. But don’t you have to fumble in your purse for it? No, it’s attractive enough to wear on a chain or as an ornament. Is there a subscription cost? No, the Athena is a one-time purchase. A final reason to buy an Athena rather than a cheaper personal safety device: the company’s culture. For each device sold, a portion of the proceeds goes to educational programs that have been shown to increase empathy and reduce violence. [To buy the Athena Safety Wearable from Amazon, click here.]
Tech details reveal the thought that went into Athena’s design…
It’s a sad country that needs a product like this. But just as smartphones changed behavior, maybe technology could jumpstart another change. Maybe products like Athena are the new mace. Maybe, just maybe, girls, women, and transsexuals could feel safe.
BONUS VIDEO
The back story.
