Technological Solution using low cost devices to

prevent feminicide scenes

1st Pedro Arteaga Gonzales
Information Systems Engineering
Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas
Lima, Perú
u201111456@upc.edu.pe
2nd Erik Jimenez Chacon
Information Systems Engineering
Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas
Lima, Perú
u201214284@upc.edu.pe
3rd Jimmy Armas-Aguirre
Information Systems Engineering
Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas
Lima, Perú
jimmy.armas@upc.pe

Abstract— In this research paper, we present a technological
solution proposal to the problem associated to violence towards
women in Peru. A conclusion was reached, based on a study, of the
main existing channels for prevention and complaint. From the
carried out study, it was determined that there are high attention
times and information asymmetries between the different actors in
the system. The posed solution reduces the minimum time necessary
for the attention and detention of an act of violence by providing an
immediate reaction. In this procedure we use low-cost components
and existing systems on the market. The solution brings together
technological components properly configured to track violence,
which consists mainly of: 1) A wearable device, alerting a specific
group of people previously added, relatives, acquaintances or people
willing to help, 2) A communication system with a real-time alert,
which, through signals, communicates to a cloud platform, these
signals are distributed to a mobile application and website. The
solution was validated at a national police station located in Lima.
The aim is to contribute to the reduction of the response time of help
and the asymmetry of information. The time used with the proposed
solution reduced 60% with respect to two solutions that the Ministry
of Justice of Peru has implemented in the last five months. of
operation.
Keywords—low-cost wearable, alert, The Internet of Things, Cloud
computing, feminicide, prevent attack
I. INTRODUCTION
Violence against women is a form of discrimination not only
of gender, but also of race and social class [1]. It is clear to mention
that in Peru, a pluricultural country, there are diverse social
manifestations, therefore, discrimination is a common and
reoccurring topic. Partner violence is a form of gender violence
recognized by the National Plan against Gender Violence 2016-
2021 (D.S.008-2016-MIMP) [2], which describes it as a problem
that is not very visible and is under-recorded, since the belief
persists that violence in the family is a private, normal and
legitimate matter that should not be publicly discussed.
One of the main causes of violence is the existence of
sociocultural patterns that generate unequal power relations and
hierarchical differences of men over women. These patterns are
attitudes, beliefs, imaginary prejudices present in the population
that justify and, therefore, tolerate violence.
In Peru, 65.9% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 were
victims of some type of violence (psychological, verbal, physical
or sexual) [3]. It should be noted that many acts of violence end in
harm, suffering or death. 11.1% of the women surveyed suffered
physical or sexual violence [3] from their partner or ex-partner who
tried to strangle her, burn her, attacked her with a knife, gun or
another weapon. During the first third of 2019, there were 142
attempts of feminicide in the country and 50 women were victims
of feminicide, of which 80% of these attempts are located in Lima
[3]. When properly structured actions are taken, they can help
reduce this type of violence, the rate of femicides is greatly
reduced. According to the national budget for the fight against
women violence, there are no mechanisms that react to violence
[3]. Thus, many entities and social groups do not have mechanisms
to act and stop violence, since they are non-reacting actions, but
rather, they wait for the victim to show signs of having suffered
aggression. Some aggressors tend to even go free of all guilt due
to lack of evidence or witnesses. As a result, an extremely high
cost is paid by allowing violence to end in femicide.
According to the 2018 survey conducted by ENDES, 70.8% of
women between the ages of 15 and 49 suffered violence from their
partner or ex-partner and did not seek help from a public institution
[3]. It can be concluded that there is little trust in the institutions
and another type of solution is being sought.
Faced with this problem, a technological solution is
recommended in order to reduce reaction time and improve
efficiency in alerting acts of violence, especially when the situation
is critical. The solution establishes as critical aspects, immediate
contact of the victim with a support group (family, acquaintances
or help group), the follow-up system, communication devices, the
observation unit, the alert measure and the sending the signal time.
This solution seeks to empower women against potential
aggressors, and directly or indirectly reduce the feminicide and
psychological problems of the aggressors.
The article is organized as follows. First, it explains the existing
solutions of wearable devices and mobile applications to alert
situations of violence against women, IoT architectures, Cloud
platforms and mobile operating systems. The components of the
recommended solution are then described. The article ends with
the results of the case study in this research and ends with the
conclusion.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Violence involves social reality. Poverty, disease, inequality in
income distribution and discrimination in all its forms (race, class,

978-1-7281-3818-3/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE

age, sexual orientation, nationality and ethnicity) are expressions TABLE III. CHARACTERISTICS OF EXISTING DEVICES
of the structural violence present in today's society. Studies Devices
associate women's violence with factors of inequality, which are Characteristics
[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
difficult to control, but not to stop. In most cases violence against
women ends in femicide. In the following table we can observe the Comfort - - - - - - -
main variables of violence found by authors and how limits and Included Modules x x x - X X X
prevention strategies are established. Validation of factors
x x - X X X X
A. Violence variables of violence
Accuracy - - - X X - -
Different Variables were found in the analysis of the literature.
Accessibility x - - x x - -
TABLE I. VIOLENCE VARIABLES
Num. Violence variables References
In table III, the characteristics of some existing solutions are
1 Education [16], [17], [18] displayed. The authors of document [11] point out that the most
2 Economical [17], [18] commonly used components are Arduino modules, which have
better performance but are large in size.
3 Gender [16], [17], [18]
D. Cloud Platform Assessment
4 Relationship duration [16], [17], [18], [20]
Cloud computing is a technology that facilitates organizations
and individuals to host their computing services without worrying
In table I, Rodolfo J. Castro and others [18] mention that about IT infrastructure and thus investing in other supporting
indicators of violence are linked to socioeconomic factors and services [refs]. This technology has largely been used in healthcare
domestic partnership. The authors also acknowledge that partners applications where scalability, mobility, agility and privacy are
of women who consume alcohol tend to be violent. Therefore, the essential factors to consider [rfs]. These factors are equally
authors recommend the establishment of prevention mechanisms important in our present study.
and the investigation of more factors to prevent violence. Table IV shows and describes the main cloud platform service
On the other hand, the factor with the greatest reoccurrence is providers in which IOT technologies can be integrate.
the variable of relationship duration, Delgado A. and others [20]
mention that the duration of a relationship of aggression in past and TABLE IV. CLOUD PLATFORMS
present time is presented as an effect of a need for emotional Num. Cloud Platforms
support. Thus, the authors suggest a system of community help and Platform Description
individual professional help. It is an integrated group of cloud services that can
be used to create, implement, and manage
B. Alert Components 1
Microsoft applications across a global network of data centers.
Azure Integrated tools, DevOps and a marketplace help
There are various forms of violence prevention in the world create mobile applications and Internet-oriented
which use different methods of response. Many of the strategies solutions [11].
are established with state measures, but there are also methods It is a platform like a service (PaaS) offering
created by ordinary people. memory capabilities, core platform services, and
2 IBM Cloud business services to create and expand custom,
The following components are mentioned as a strategy: collaborative, mobile-enabled cloud applications
[12].
TABLE II. COMPONENTS OF EXISTING SOLUTIONS It is a platform used to create solutions through
technology stored in the cloud and allows to
Num. Response Components References highlight the speed and scaling of its infrastructure.
Google Cloud
Global Positioning System (GPS) 3 It contains a set of Cloud Computing services (data
1 [12], [13], [15] Platform
storage, data analysis, automatic learning, etc.)
2 Default messages [10] using the Google cloud as the only way to access,
store and manage data [13].
3 Video Recording [12], [13], [15]

4 Voice Recording [9], [13] The IBM solution was chosen as this solution offers better tools
5 Global System for Mobile (GSM) [9], [13] for integrating cloud devices with services such as NODE RED
and a non-relational Cloudant base.
6 Open Source delivered [14]
III. TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTION PROPOSED

The more common response components are the GPS strategy
and voice recording [12, 13]. These responses act more as a
repelling strategy that would drive attackers to keep away when
recording is shown as an evidence. However, they are not reactive
strategies and therefore the act of violence will often end up
happening.
C. Characteristics Evaluation
Several devices were found that were conducted in researches,
which were developed with previously presented components.
A. Solution description
The solution is implemented in an IOT environment, cloud
computing with Node.js as framework and NODE RED as the
main application. Platform independence was obtained in the
synchronization of the device and other components such as a
smart phone. In addition, an application and a web page were
developed, which are synchronized with the wearable.
The architecture and the way in which the system was modeled
make it scalable, that is, it has the capacity to expand in terms of
functionality. Therefore, this work can be considered as a starting
point for the development of similar projects fig. 1.
sought for this project. For the development of the prototype, a
fieldwork was carried out measuring the reaction time using the
device and a survey to measure the satisfaction of the same.
B. Implementation
Based on the benchmarking point shown in the literature paper
on wearable devices, a device was designed taking into account the
needs and criteria evaluated. Therefore, a prototype was designed
with basic functionalities that capture the location of the device by
means of a GPS module. A pushbutton that acts as a panic button
and a module of the ESP series as a WiFi receiver and connector
for its application in IoT projects.

Fig. 1. Technological Solution Arquitecture

B. Solution Phases
• Device Layer: This layer describes the users who connect
to the devices and therefore to the IoT platform. It also
describes the components that the device has for capturing
information and as a model of connection to the server.
The Sensor is the component that generates a piece of
information, this data refers to variables such as location
and alert level of aggression.
• Gateway Layer: Connectivity of the sensor to receive and
transfer data.
• Data processing layer: In this layer the data received is
processed and sent to different devices (e.g., mobile
applications or desktop environments).
• Data storage layer: It is the layer that takes on the
persistence within the solution since the architecture
describes that there is a database group to store the
information that arrives from the sensors to be later
exploited and distributed.
• Application layer: This layer is in charge of data reporting
and has the function of distributing the most relevant and
ordered information for user analysis as a support group
role. The result will be backed up by a mobile solution that
will record and store the person's location history and
allow help personnel to have knowledge in an initial
context. This information will also be visualized through
a web platform that will have credentialed access to
maintain data confidentiality. The benefit will be to keep
a support group alert by two means (Mobile and Web
Application) so that people can take action immediately
and not after an incident has occurred.
Fig. 2. Assembling view of the componens
The implementation was carried out in 3 parts which are as
follows:
• First Stage: We proceeded to explain the functioning of the
device and installation of the application to the potential
victim’s cell phones. The function is for example, the
woman sends the signal by activating the alert on the
device, the signal ends when the person who helps opens
the application and tracks the signal, finally the reaction
time between the alert and the help received is calculated.
Preceding the installation, training was provided. An
important aspect of this training was the treatment of false
positive alerts. For example, accidental activations could
happen if the device becomes lodged or stuck or if it is left
unattended and at the reach of children. Women were
constantly reminded of the keeping the device safe and
refraining from leaving it unattended.
• Second Stage: The reaction time was evaluated, which is
established by the action of the support community
(Relatives, acquaintances, neighbors and others).
C. Results
After the tests carried out in the emergency center, 60 time
results were obtained as shown in the following table.
VOLUNTARIAS
TIEMPO DE RESPUESTA POR NÚMEROS DE APOYOS (MIN)
APOYO 1 APOYO 2 APOYO 3 APOYO 4 APOYO 5 PROMEDIO
Voluntaria 1 9.52 9.32 10.26 7.60 7.32 8.80

IV. CASE STUDIES Voluntaria 2

Voluntaria 3
6.09
7.03
7.99
10.65
11.16
12.13
8.77
8.39
6.51
5.26
8.10
8.69
``Voluntaria 4 9.52 12.33 11.98 7.33 6.87 9.61

A. Organization Voluntaria 5
Voluntaria 6
11.89
9.00
7.23
7.37
6.86
9.76
6.02
9.25
6.37
9.11
7.67
8.90
Voluntaria 7 12.56 11.21 10.55 11.32 8.12 10.75
Women's Emergency Centers (CEM, by its Spanish initials) Voluntaria 8 11.23 13.62 13.82 12.86 11.90 12.69

are free, specialized, comprehensive and multidisciplinary public Voluntaria 9

Voluntaria 10
12.79
8.22
12.15
7.22
9.20
5.26
9.67
5.64
10.40
6.39
10.84
6.55

services for victims of domestic and sexual violence, which Voluntaria 11

Voluntaria 12
10.37
12.36
12.33
9.69
10.24
13.23
13.45
9.41
6.37
13.20
10.55
11.58
provide legal advice, legal defense and psychological counseling; Voluntaria 13
Voluntaria 14
11.03
8.94
8.14
7.54
8.30
6.62
8.62
7.69
13.02
6.19
9.82
7.40
it is where the solution’s development is made. The center seeks to Voluntaria 15 10.72 9.88 7.70 8.33 7.43 8.81
Voluntaria 16 13.38 8.42 7.23 7.64 7.61 8.86
recover the damage suffered and provides social assistance. There Voluntaria 17 7.57 5.03 5.75 4.10 5.39 5.57

are also 351 women's emergency centers in Peru, 105 in police Voluntaria 18 13.96 13.00 11.00 9.92 8.37 11.25

stations open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 245 in agreements
with municipalities with office care and 1 in a hospital open 24
hours a day, prevention activities are carried out through training,
communication campaigns, training of community agents and
mobilization of organizations. For this reason, one of the centers
with the highest number of reports of violence in recent years was
Fig. 3. Test results with real users.
From the figure 4 it can be observed that the volunteers had the
support in average times of 9.25 min, this is due to the fact that
they were not accustomed to the use of devices. The comparison
of current state services with programs such as CEM, “Línea 100”
and “Chat 100” was carried out, of which the following table
shows that the solution is on average the fastest.
TIEMPO DE RESPUESTA DE PROGRAMAS DE ATENCIÓN CONTRA VIOLENCIA HACIA LA
MUJER
Programa
CEM
Tiempo Promedio de atención
60.00
COMISARIA 120.00
LINEA 100 15.00
CHAT 100 15.00
STAAM - T. Prom. 9.25
Fig. 4. Comparison of times with other violence care services.
In the same way, a mobile application was developed to
support the taking of results and the implementation of the project,
which has the following characteristics:
• Alert reception: The device emits a signal when pressing
the button implemented, the response time of the server
was evaluated, it being 0.7 seconds. The mobile
application and the web page receive and emit the alert
signal with an emergency message and sound and then
stored in the application server database. In addition, the
application saves the GPS position and distance from it as
shown in fig. 5.
Data visualization platform: Data acquired from users that is stored
in server databases in the "cloud". The history of each user and
their information in real time, and the alerts are visualized by
means of Web applications implemented in HTM, CSS and
JavaScript and by means of the mobile application developed
natively in Android (fig. 5). The members of the support
community will be able to see the alerts in real time and carry out
the reactive measures instantly.
Fig. 5. Operating Application
V. CONCLUSIONS
The solution explicitly seeks to empower women and, with the
help of the alert, GPS and visualization platforms establish that
they are not alone. EMFs can add alerts to their processes because
they are available to any user willing to support and stop violence.
The solution explicitly seeks to empower women and, with the
help of the alert, GPS and visualization platforms establish that
they are not alone. EMFs can add alerts to their processes because
they are available to any user willing to support and stop violence.
Due to the nature of the project, it is open to a number of issues
for the continuity of the project. One of them is the exploitation of
data for predictions through Big Data and even the application of
Machine Learning for a system that helps the support group for
women who are victims of aggression. Another application that
could be addressed in the project would be the implementation of
additional sensors such as detection the level of sweat, heart rate,
sugar level, among others. Last but not least, the integration of the
technological solution with new devices and implementation
within low-cost domotics is left to research. This in order to
achieve technological advancement in sectors that are less
explored due to the expensive technology approach for Smart
Homes.
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