A Saint John programmer has responded to the #MeToo movement by developing an app to help sexual assault victims search for other victims of a single predator.

Raven Blue, a user experience developer and father of two girls, has been thinking about his product, PerpTag, (http://www.perptag.com) for a while, and the outcry over sexual misconduct spurred him to develop something to help women.

He admits that this product treads on dicey legal and ethical grounds, and he is now in consultation with law enforcement and sexual assault survivor support groups on how to proceed with its launch. Overall, he believes it’s “exciting” to be part of a movement that is empowering women to take action against sexual violence and harassment.

“I have two daughters so it’s great to be in a time where we’re seeing a shift in a balance of power,” said Blue in an interview this week. “I was raised by a single mother so I always like to see women’s causes becoming more tangible.”

Raven Blue

Blue has recently launched his own freelance venture, which helps businesses create user experiences for their apps. On the side, he likes to pursue his own projects for the good of the community. He has developed a working prototype of PerpTag, which is one such community project.

PerpTag is a web application that lets a sexual assault victim search to see if other women have been attacked by the same perpetrator. On the site, the woman can type in the first and last names and phone number of the assailant. PerpTag then uses algorithms to produce a coded hashtag attached to this individual, and the victim can place that hashtag on social media, chats, blogs or other places.

PerpTag does not store the name of the perpetrator. But if another woman types in the exact same name and phone number, the algorithms will produce the exact same hashtag. The two (or more) women could then connect using the hashtag, support one another and possibly pursue legal action together.

Blue says the system does not publicly identify alleged perpetrators, and is designed to help a victim learn if her perpetrator has assaulted other women. He admits that he has to discuss the project with experts in the field and is waiting to hear back from law enforcement officials and support groups.

“I think the key to moving forward is to understand the legal risks and the ethical risks and I’ve reached out . . . to see what I could learn.”

Blue’s efforts with PerpTag have already generated a discussion beyond official organizations. When Blue posted details of the project on the New Brunswick Startup Community Facebook page last week, he received both encouragement and questions about whether this could identify an alleged assailant without due legal process.

“The connectivity of this could be huge,” wrote Joanna Killen, a member of the Saint John startup community. “I think that taking all this feedback about liability early on is how you will be able to create a risk-reduced way for survivors to gain support and traction for taking down the predators. There is power in numbers and this is an innovative way to help women find the support they need.”