New Smartphone App Aims to Inform College-Age Women on Sexual Assault Safety

Researchers at the University of Missouri, Arizona State University, the Oregon Health and Science University, and John Hopkins University have developed a new smartphone app to inform college-age women about sexual assault and to help them customize personal safety plans. The development was funded by the One Love Foundation and the Urban Health Institute at Johns Hopkins.

The “One Love My Plan” app is an interactive tool that helps college-age women formulate a safety plan. The free app is filled with helpful features, including:

• Information on healthy relationship dynamics, common relationship violence myths and potential behavioral red flags.
• Sample scripts for approaching friends who are possibly in dangerous relationships.
• Personalized safety plans based on users’ priorities and backed by scientific research.
• Links to local and national resources, including the option to live chat with trained peer advocates.

“At some point, almost everyone knows someone in an unhealthy relationship,” said Tina Bloom, an assistant professor at the MU Sinclair School of Nursing who was involved in the development of the app. “The purpose of the My Plan app is to quickly and confidentially provide women and concerned friends with information and available resources. Our goal is not to replace existing services, but to better connect students with them. The My Plan app gives students tools to examine their relationships, set their priorities and privately access resources when they are ready.”

Dr. Bloom is a graduate of the University of Kansas-Kansas City. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the Oregon Health and Science University.

For iOS users, The One Love My Plan app can be downloaded here.

For Android users, the app can be downloaded here.