It is a type of pest that has inhabited our streets for too long, acting without the slightest inconvenience day and night. Their modus operandi: whistling, miming obscene gestures, making sexist remarks and harassing. A hell endured daily by too many women that the singer Angèle highlighted in 2018 in her hit Balance your what. The MeToo wave then broke out to free speech and denounce sexist violence and street harassment.
“You have to be devoid of empathy to deny this reality experienced by many women who no longer dare to go out,” emphasizes Quentin Duteil. Originally from Caen (Calvados), this 34-year-old computer scientist did not discover yesterday this feeling of insecurity that he has observed for a long time during his nighttime outings with friends. Like a white knight, he was looking for “a positive and pacifist response” to combat this gangrene “without adding violence to violence”. Because six years later Balance your whatthe relous have unfortunately not disappeared from the streets. They are certainly perhaps more discreet since aggravated sexist and sexual contempt became an offense in 2023. But the fines have never calmed them down.
“Very useful to scare away the attacker”
The figures also show the extent of this scourge with 75% of women admitting to having already been victims of harassment in the street or on transport at least once in their life. So, a tinkerer at heart, Quentin Duteil took advantage of his 3D printing skills to draw out a new weapon to scare away the bad guys. And to scare them and alert passers-by, what’s better than a good shrill whistle.
This is how the idea of the “repel-relou” whistle was born in the spring, a small 3D-printed plastic object that fits in your pocket. “There is a double air outlet which generates two sounds with different frequencies and this causes a very shrill noise,” he explains. It’s very unpleasant but very useful to scare away the attacker. »
“An object of public utility” and not “a business”
The young man first distributed his find to a few relatives. Then in bars in Caen and festivals in Normandy, each time with positive feedback. Today he is overwhelmed with requests with already more than 7,000 whistles ordered, items that he sells at a low price in packs of ten (14.50 euros).
“I never wanted to make a business out of it and take advantage of this climate of insecurity,” he assures, still proud of the usefulness of his object. “I have a lot of women who tell me that they are reassured when they go out with their whistle,” he says. A lady also told me that she had started jogging again because she had stopped for fear of being attacked. »
A little overwhelmed by the success of his alarm whistle, Quentin also assures that he is not the inventor. “It’s Jonas Daehnert, a German designer who published a similar model on the Web three years ago,” says the Norman. I called him and he immediately gave me the rights. » Member of the big family of makers, Quentin Duteil did the same by sharing the plans of the whistle for free on his site to print it yourself. “I consider that it is an object of public utility and I have no problem, quite the contrary, with others continuing this initiative,” he confides. A model of altruism and kindness.
