“Every morning, millions of women calculate risk before they calculate their route. In Sri Lanka, a woman cannot commute to work, walk to the market, or stand in a queue without bracing herself. Public life, the very thing that citizenship promises, has never been made safe for her and other vulnerable communities,” said Zainab Hassen, Founder and Director of Programmes at Yellowdot Org.
The modern world celebrates the idea of the independent woman. From encouraging girls to pursue education and careers to promoting financial autonomy, independence is framed as both aspiration and achievement. Yet beneath this progress lies a stark contradiction: as women become more visible in public life, the rates at which they report harassment continue to rise. Independence, for many, still comes with an unspoken cost.
Across South Asia, stories continue to surface of women, be they students, professionals, or tourists, who face harassment simply for occupying public space alone. Whether commuting to work, attending university, or walking home after dark, women report being followed, verbally harassed, groped, cornered, or exposed to sexual violence. These experiences are not rare or exceptional; they are routine.
When the UNFPA reports that 1 in 4 women in Sri Lanka face sexual harassment, our communities need to question what solutions exist for resilient women to add layers of safety to reduce harassment and, when incidents occur, develop instruments that can bring perpetrators to justice.
In conversation with Zainab Hassen, a development specialist for over 10 years working across the space of fundamental rights, gender and disability inclusion, she emphasised that in 2024, over 2,200 cases of sexual harassment were officially reported. That number is not a measure of how much harassment is happening; it is a measure of how much women believe reporting will change anything. A conviction rate of just 3.8% for rape tells you why they don’t.
In 2025, the Sri Lankan police announced the rollout of a safety campaign in response to an expected influx of 2 million tourists. While media attention again focused on foreigners harassed in tourist hotspots, the everyday Lankan woman’s plea for help often went unnoticed. Whether the first response is bottlenecked or there is no proper mechanism for solutions to reach communities that need them most, a clear gap remains to be bridged.
This gap prompted the founding question behind Scouts: what if incidents in public spaces could be deterred in real time while also collecting evidence for justice? Scouts was built on the recognition that safety is a fundamental need and that existing systems often fail to respond quickly or effectively to moments of harassment.
However, research into sexual harassment reveals a crucial challenge: these incidents often unfold in seconds. Shock, fear, and disorientation can prevent someone from reacting quickly enough to trigger an SOS before a perpetrator disappears. To address this, Scouts looked toward existing community-based safety models, such as university buddy systems that allow students to be accompanied by a peer when walking alone after dark. Inspired by this, Scouts designed “Walk Safe”, a feature that allows an automated drone to accompany a user along a chosen route, providing a visible deterrent and reassurance until they reach their destination safely.
Scouts is a Sri Lankan AI and Robotics startup which is currently manufacturing drones in Sri Lanka for private property-based security applications. While its AI-assisted models have demonstrated strong potential for commercial and private land security, the original vision has always been rooted in protecting everyday citizens.
Recognising that public safety solutions require trust, collaboration, and accountability, Scouts plans to begin community-focused deployments with a comprehensive needs assessment of vulnerable populations. Technology alone is not the answer; it must be shaped by the lived realities of the communities it aims to serve.
To safeguard rights and privacy, Scouts’ drones remain grounded until activated. The system seeks to be co-designed with human rights practitioners to ensure data protection and ethical use. Any footage collected is to be encrypted and accessed only through legal channels, prioritising justice without compromising individual privacy.
Scouts is hosting a community forum, “After Dark Unfiltered: Safer Streets,” in collaboration with Black Cat Colombo. This space is designed to bring together community members, development practitioners, and researchers who have experience working with marginalised and vulnerable communities.
Most importantly, we want to listen. If you have experiences, ideas, or perspectives you’d like to share, we warmly invite you to be part of the conversation. Please send us your thoughts at feedback@thescouts.io or to register your interest.