We can no longer deny the truth. Today in America, one in three women have experience physical or sexual abuse at one point in their life. And worldwide, the numbers are even more sickening. About 120 million girls around the world – that is 1 in 10 girls – have been the victim of rape or a similar forced sex act, including thousands of girls on college campuses around the country.
Yamine Mustafa didn’t know how bad it was for women around the world – until she took a 6-month trip and got to hear tragic stories from women all over the globe. Because so many of the people she talked to told her horror stories about physical and sexual abuse, Mustafa knew something needed to be done. But what could one angry woman do?
After traveling the world, Mustafa returned home to Philadelphia. But the stories of those woman did not leave her. She was tortured by them and needed to act – to do something to help women from experiencing the same fate.
When back in Philadelphia, Mustafa’s neighbor at the luxury apartment building was abducted and raped. That’s when it finally hit close to home for her. She knew the time to act was now.
Mustafa partnered with a team of experts to create Athena, a technology designed to empower women to live without fear.
Her company ROAR for Good, named after Katy Perry’s famous song, is beginning to manufacture Athena. These half-dollar size devices can be easily attached to clothing or a bag and if the woman feels threatened, she presses a button which instantly notifies her family and friends of her location via text message.
“Every two minutes, a woman is attacked in America. We learned that women were afraid to use other protection devices, that they felt they would be overpowered and it would be used against them.”
Mahoud, the man who helped develop the product, understands this important issue for women because he grew up with four sisters and a single mother.
“To hear the fears that a woman goes through… it comes to a point where you say enough is enough,” Mahoud said. He is proud to create something that helps women feel safer in American and around the world.
The co-founder of ROAR, Anthony Gold, envisions a future where Athena won’t be needed, but until then he wants women to be as safe as possible.
“Our goal is that one day, devices like Athena won’t be needed. But until then, we’ll do everything we can to make a difference.”
Every American needs to know about ROAR and the Athena device. ROAR can help prevent new sexual and physical abuse from occurring. Plus, for every device sold, a percentage of the proceeds go toward educating people.
“We don’t want to put a Band-Aid on the problem. We want to help get to the root cause of violence against women,” Gold said.
