Tri Rismaharini, Minister of Social Affairs, revealed the GRUWI wristband for hearing and speech impaired people , which is designed to lower their risk of rape and accidents.
The Minister pointed out at the GRUWI launching on Monday, 3rd of July 2023, that the incidence of rape against hearing and speech impaired people was a driving force behind the development of the device.
The fact that many hearing and speech impaired people are involved in accidents, such as getting hit or driven over by a train, is another factor of the invention.
Rismaharini recounted an event during her tenure as the mayor of Surabaya, where a kid was wandering on a rail track and was run over by a train. She added that numerous individuals had warned him about the approaching train, but the incident was unavoidable since he had a hearing impairment.
The Minister later learned from the victim’s family that the child had hearing and speaking impairments, which prevented him from hearing the train’s approaching warnings.
The Minister of Social Affairs remarked, “That incident prompted me to ask the staff to develop a device for our brothers and sisters with speech and hearing impairments.”
A button in GRUWI can be clicked to send an alarm and request assistance if the user becomes anxious for any reason.
Additionally, GRUWI has a movement sensor, so anytime a threat is approaching, the wristband will vibrate to warn the user.
According to the Minister of Social Affairs, GRUWI will be made available as a government support, with disabled people from underprivileged backgrounds and young people having priority in its distribution.
Rismaharini noted that the Ministry of Social Affairs is working to create GRUWI on a big scale and incorporate additional features to help people with disabilities even more.
The new features will include ones that can assist disabled individuals who are asking for assistance because they frequently lack the knowledge to do so.
Interested in this topic? Check out our other articles from Social Expat:
