An interdisciplinary, dialogic approach to develop an electronic device to enhance freedom and mobility of women in public spaces in the Indian context — Illustrated by the case of Convers[i[ation

Abstract

This paper introduces Convers[t]ation, an electronic panel on which informal reports of sexual harassment in public spaces are submitted. The Convers[t]ation panel was developed as the result of a cross-cultural collaborative project conducted in Bangalore, India1 and Amsterdam, The Netherlands2. The need to bridge the gap in data regarding crimes against women was identified as a primary concern in building a strong case for the advocacy of change in government policy where required, as per the recommendations of Women's rights groups. A system of registering and compiling informal reports was decided as having the potential to provide an apt and functional solution to the above problem. Hence Convers[t]ation, an electronic panel positioned in public areas and usable even by semi/illiterate audiences was conceived to do the task. Convers[t]ation is designed to be accessible to a diverse audience in the Indian context; enabled by its simple input mechanism and comprehensive media of presentation. Discussions about the panel and its development are used to illustrate an interdisciplinary, dialogic approach to understand and grapple with the complexity of a wicked problem; namely that of freedom and mobility of women in public spaces in the Indian context. Following this, an attempt at aiding progress in the field by designing an electronic device to provide an E-service is detailed.