Well, maybe not yet, but apparently there will be: (h/t Breda)

Today the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, with the Department of Health and Human Services, announced a contest to develop a smartphone app to help students better protect themselves in risky situations. The effort is dubbed Apps Against Abuse.

The competition calls for developers to build an app that lets women designate friends or emergency contacts and check in with them during at-risk situations. The app would also provide fast access to information and resources for dealing with sexual assault or dating violence.

Um… OK. Sure. I guess that’s not horrible. But it also doesn’t seem to be that effective in stopping anything. This app would only be good after the fact and uh… that’s of little comfort in my book.

“Everyone has a role to play in the prevention of violence and abuse,” Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. secretary of health and human services, said in a prepared statement. “This application can be another way to encourage young women and men to take an active role in the prevention of dating violence and sexual assault.”

My role?

I teach women how to shoot guns and effectively defend themselves. I teach them how to recognize potential bad situations and get themselves out of them or avoid them in the first place. Taking classes like this, getting a concealed handgun permit and always carrying, that’s a more effective active role in the prevention of violence and assault.

Somehow I think 124 grains of 9mm hollow point is a lot more effective at preventing rape than an iPhone app.