I’ve known about this app for a while. When I first heard about it I thought it was a brilliant, and possibly life-saving idea. And then I forgot all about it.

Until I read this article yesterday and 2 things terrified me.

1. Queensland domestic violence help line calls are going unanswered. Because the need for help outweighs their capacity. So women who are in possibly life-threatening situations, aren’t able to get help.
2. In Australia we have at least 1 Senator who believes it’s ok for a man to put a woman in a headlock sometimes. Frightening.

So, back to the Aspire News app. Created by Robin McGraw, here’s how her website describes it

ASPIRE News is a free application which contains summaries of top stories in world, sports, and entertainment news, from the When Georgia Smiled: Robin McGraw Foundation (and powered by Yahoo!).

Additionally, if someone you know is in an abusive relationship—or if that someone is you—the Help Section of the application contains resources for victims of domestic violence.

This app does not serve as a replacement for emergency services—in any situation where you feel that you may be at risk, please dial 911 or your local emergency number.

If you are caught in a domestic violence situation you can open the app (which looks like any run-of-the-mill news app) triple tap on the bar at the top of the screen and the app will send a pre-typed message to 3 trusted contacts, to let them know you need emergency help.

Every screen on the app also has a X that you can click to quickly exit back to the ‘news page’ if you need to hide what you’re doing.

Aspire News app is available for iPhone and Android. Find out more here.