For now, Flare is focused on de-escalation – because 85% off assaults for women in college happen with someone you know* (source), not stranger danger. Through our deep research and testing, we learned that most college students do not always feel comfortable contacting the police for a multitude of reasons. In fact, only 20% of female student victims, age 18-24, report to law enforcement (source).
Providing solutions that only escalate situations can become a barrier to someone taking action in the moment. We want our members to feel confident using Flare in the moment and not be worried about any ramifications.
However, our focus is on providing a diverse feature set so our members have options to choose what is right for them in the moment. We continuously add new features to our mobile app, so keep your eyes peeled for a feature like this coming soon.