INVI

Project "INVI" data sheet

The following table provides information about the project.

 Partnership

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 Project objective

Sexual violence remains an important social issue both in developed and developing countries worldwide. Although more and more attention is devoted to this violation of human dignity, and gender equality and women's empowerment are at the top of the agendas of the European Union and United Nations, the number of sexual assault victims is still alarming. Even though the problem is not restricted to a special segment of the society, women represent the majority of victims. We at INVI are convinced that awareness, self-confidence, and education represent the main instruments to tackle this unresolved issue. We aim to deploy in the market the INVI Bracelet: an innovative, patented, non-violent self-defense wearable device, that enables the users to protect themselves and empowers women and men by making them feel safer in their daily lives. The mechanism is simple; in case of emergency, the wearer can activate the safeguard of the bracelet, the capsule breaks and releases an unpleasant and repellent smell which confuses, distracts, and sexually discourages the potential attacker; it can also alarm people in the vicinity since it is perceptible for over 100 meters. Our prototype has been tested and validated with end users in collaboration with the City of Rotterdam and so far 600 bracelets have been sold. Now, we aim to get to an optimized mass manufacturing process, develop a new low-cost version for the developing countries, and reach up to 1 million women by 2020. In addition to protect the potential victims of sexual harassment, we also aim at creating a community of people wearing the Bracelet to speak out against violence, and support gender equality. The performance of this feasibility study will help us minimise the technical, commercial and financial risks before undertaking this ambitious and transcendent project.