Safer Nights Out: The Role of Mobile Apps in Preventing Sexual Violence

Engaging in nightlife activities is an essential form of leisure, especially among young people. However, it also presents considerable risks associated with the occurrence of various forms of violence. Recently, increasing attention has been directed toward sexual violence occurring in nightlife settings. Despite numerous preventive efforts, such as awareness raising, bystander intervention training, alcohol policies, and situational preventive measures, sexual violence remains a persistent issue in nightlife contexts. With the extended usage of smartphones, mobile apps represent a promising approach that complements sexual violence prevention. This article presents findings from a systematic literature review and an online overview of mobile apps aimed at the intervention and prevention of sexual violence, focusing on identifying features suitable for nightlife contexts. The literature review revealed limited academic resources addressing such mobile apps, with only six articles found across four databases. An online review highlighted a wide range of mobile apps that tackle violence. However, when it comes to sexual violence, only 18 apps explicitly focus on prevention or intervention. Although many apps address some aspects of the problem, we noticed a lack of a comprehensive approach that would target all relevant stakeholders. Based on the conducted mobile app’s feature assessment, we propose a set of functionalities that should be incorporated into a holistic mobile app for nightlife sexual violence prevention, which may complement existing educational, community-based, and structural prevention efforts.