Entrepreneur
Danish startup’s tech-enabled jewellery to tackle sexual harassment
With jewellery that doubles as a discreet safety device, Danish startup All U Me is combining social impact with innovation to address the significant impact of sexual harassment on women’s health and wellbeing.
One in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence, and around half have experienced sexual harassment since the age of 15. The misconception that these incidents always occur late at night and in dark alleyways overlooks the reality of these experiences, which for many women are a part of everyday life.
The Government Equalities Office reports that almost 72 per cent of the UK population has experienced sexual harassment at work in their lifetime. Research shows that 56 per cent of women have experienced harassment in gyms, while 60 per cent of women had been harassed while running, and 11 per cent stopped running altogether as a result.
“It’s the everyday experiences that are the problem,” Dorte Caroline Knudsen (pictured above), founder of Danish startup All U Me tells Femtech World.
“It’s not just walking down a dark street in the middle of the night, it’s the everyday, in the supermarket, on the bus, where you experience feeling unsafe or your boundaries not being respected. It’s the mental load that women are expected to carry, almost without talking about it, to get home safely. I can get home safe; I’m not the problem.”
After 14 years as head of products at a Danish software company, at the age of 47, Knudsen felt called to channel her skills into more purposeful entrepreneurship. Inspired by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and anger at the global prevalence of gender-based violence, she began looking into what solutions were currently being developed to address it.
“It was sad to see that none of the solutions said anything about prevention,” she says. “All the focus was on normalising what is going on and putting the responsibility on women.”
In response, Knudsen has created a solution that aims to empower women, while also shifting “safety” from an individual to a collective responsibility.
“The beauty of feeling free”
All U Me has designed a range of jewellery featuring delicate gold and silver chains and ocean-inspired charms, which double up as an alarm system to enable them to call for help when they feel unsafe.
“Tech is wonderful, but it can do more when it’s put into something beautiful, which is very rarely seen in the tech space,” says Knusden.
“Most of the existing solutions were one-size-fits-all, but women don’t work like that. We want to wear something that makes us feel beautiful.”
As well as being beautiful to look at, the jewellery is practical. Fully waterproof and with a battery life lasting up to four years, it is designed to be worn all the time, making it “probably the first real wearable”, according to Knusden.
Each item has a discreet button, linked via Bluetooth and GPS to an app connecting the wearer to nearby bystanders. This may be friends or family who have downloaded the app to their phone specifically for this purpose, or other All U Me users in the local area.
If a woman finds herself in an uncomfortable or unsafe situation, three firm pushes of the button notify up to 20 nearby bystanders or ‘backups’ with her location, alerting them to the incident so that they can intervene.
The app trains all users in the 5D bystander intervention method – distract, delegate, delay, direct, document – in as little as three minutes, so they can choose the approach that feels right at the time.
This is designed to break down some of the barriers that may prevent people from stepping in, such as not noticing, not being sure whether help is wanted, or not knowing what to do, Knudsen explains.
“The feedback we get from the workshops we do is that people like to have a framework. Empowering bystanders, by telling them ‘this is what you need to do’, and ‘this is when you need to do it’, makes people a little bit more inclined to help,” she says.
“It’s no more genius than the technology that already exists, and there are times when it might not work, but that’s why the feeling of security is so important, because that’s the everyday benefit of this.”
According to All.u.me’s focus groups, 98.8 per cent of people being trained in these methods feel there’s at least one thing they can do the next time they witness harassment, while 76 per cent who saw harassment after attending the training reported that they intervened.
“The jewellery is just one element,” Knudsen continues.
“It’s actually much more about the feeling of safety and belonging to a community that I hear our users appreciate every day, and the dialogue around it. Maybe it’s telling your loved ones why you want this jewellery, or maybe it’s somebody on the bus, or the bus driver, the bartender, or the guy at the fitness center who has the app. It’s not a guarantee, but that’s where the social responsibility kicks in, and of course, our most important job is to make sure that people have the app.”
Reframing femtech
Safety and sexual harassment can be overlooked in the femtech sector. Both the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control classify sexual violence as a major public-health issue, and evidence shows that these experiences can not only have a significant impact on mental health but can also lead to physical symptoms and an increased risk of developing chronic conditions, contributing to long-term health disparities.
One recent study found that women who had experienced being stalked and/or obtained a restraining order had a 41 per cent and 70 per cent higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, respectively. Other research has shown that women with a history of violence are around twice as likely to develop chronic pain conditons and are over-represented among women with conditions such as chronic pelvic pain, IBS, and migraine.
In many ways, All U Me expands the understanding of femtech, centering safety as a foundation for health and equality. But Knusden is wary of being labelled as a ‘femtech’ company.
“The fact that safety is not seen as femtech is quite weird, actually, when statistically so many of us will experience harassment,” she says.
“But I also want to acknowledge that there are so many people who can benefit from this. It’s not just about gender equality, it’s for anybody who may feel unsafe in society.”
Not a jewellery brand, but a tech enabler
The more people who have the app, the more effective the tool is. While women can create their own networks from anywhere by asking friends and family to download the app, it works most effectively in more populated urban areas where more users are likely to be within a 1 km range.
Since launching in June, All U Me now has 2,000 active subscribers in Copenhagen. There are plans to expand into Sweden, Germany, and the UK, but partnerships with existing jewellery brands – to integrate its safety devices into their existing designs – will be crucial for helping this technology reach more women.
“There are so many jewelry brands in the world, I don’t want to be another one,” says Knusden.
“We want to be a technology enabler. Our vision is to empower and inspire everyone – people, brands, organisations – to stand against harassment, whether they do it by downloading the app, or partnering with us to make the jewellery. This is how we will scale through these partnerships.”
She has big ambitions, believing All U Me could be the “first social impact unicorn”, combining scalable tech, commercial sustainability, and philanthropy.
“I have global ambitions with this, but I also have philanthropical ambitions, in the sense that I believe that every young girl and woman should be able to feel safe and be who they are, Knusden adds.
Sharing her experience of using All U Me, one woman described her sense of safety as going from a “two to a four out of five”.
“Her feeling of safety doubled,” Knusden emphasises. “It’s not a 100 per cent guarantee, but it meant that she stopped carrying her keys between her fingers. If we can make people feel safer, and if we can make it easier for bystanders to act, then we can change the world.”
By Women’s Health Week
With four weeks to go until Women’s Health Week USA, the excitement is ramping up!
The final early bird pricing closes this Friday, the full speaker lineup is confirmed, and a record number of pitch applications signals the depth of innovation now moving through the sector as we enter the Era of Scale.
Women’s Health Week USA takes place May 13-14 at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City, bringing together 600+ senior decision makers spanning investors, founders, multinationals, payers, providers and policymakers around one shared agenda: taking women’s health from growth to scale.
Early bird tickets are available until midnight on Friday, April 17.
Book by then to save up to $600 on your place
The Full Speaker Lineup is Confirmed
The full speaker lineup has finally been confirmed, with 80+ voices spanning investment, innovation, policy, medtech and pharma.
The programme reflects the event’s 2026 theme, The Era of Scale, moving beyond early validation into the harder work of institutionalising women’s health as a category.
Confirmed speakers include Kate Ryder (Maven Clinic), Mallika Mundkur (FDA), Melanie Newman (Planned Parenthood), Nichole Young-Lin (Google), Jill Angelo (OURA), David Stern (Kindbody) and Tammy Sun (Carrot Fertility), alongside representation from the NYSE, ARPA-H, the World Health Organization, Samsung Next, Novo Holdings and more.
170 Pitch Applications and Counting
The Women’s Health Week USA Innovation Showcase received a record 170 applications ahead of its April 10 close, the highest number in the event’s history.
The volume reflects the growing depth of innovation in the sector, but it was the quality of submissions that stood out, with companies across Medical Devices & Therapeutics and Consumer & Tech bringing genuinely differentiated solutions to conditions that have been underserved for decades.
The selected companies will get the chance to pitch on the mainstage at the New York Academy of Medicine in front of the full audience of 600+ investors, corporates, innovators and strategic partners.
Results will be announced next week.
Register your interest to find out who makes the WHW USA Innovator Class of 2026
NYSE Partnership: A Quick Recap
For those who missed our announcement on Femtech World last week, the New York Stock Exchange is the Official Exchange Partner of Women’s Health Week USA 2026.
On the morning of May 13, WHW will feature in the NYSE Market Update, reaching approximately 200 million viewers.
Women’s Health Week will also light up the North Star Billboard in Times Square for a full week around the event, with live and taped interviews distributed across NYSE Live and Taking Stock.
It remains one of the most significant institutional endorsements the women’s health sector has seen.
Early Bird Pricing Closes This Friday
Tickets increase by up to $600 after midnight on Friday, April 17. For anyone with May 13-14 in their calendar, this week is the window to move.
Flora Fertility has raised US$5m in seed funding to roll out fertility insurance across the US, with plans to expand into Canada.
The round was led by ManchesterStory, with participation from Slauson & Co., TruStage Ventures, BDC Capital, Marathon Fund, Adara Venture Capital and strategic angel investors. Existing investors include Highline Beta, Everywhere Ventures and Cartography Capital.
Laura McDonald, co-founder of Flora Fertility, said: “Fertility is one of the largest uninsured financial risks people face, yet the system today only offers support once you’re already in crisis and often only if your employer provides it.
“We’re creating a new category where fertility becomes something you can proactively plan for, not just pay for when it’s too late.”
Flora says it is introducing a new InsurTech category with individually owned, portable fertility insurance designed to address a gap in healthcare cover.
The company says it wants to shift fertility from a reactive expense to a proactive, data-driven financial planning tool, using AI, personalised underwriting and risk modelling.
The platform lets people buy coverage without relying on an employer, helping it continue through job changes and different stages of life.
Flora’s policies cover a full range of fertility treatments, including diagnostics, medications, intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilisation, with entry-level pricing starting at about US$20 a month.
The company estimates that infertility affects one in six people globally, while treatment costs can range from US$30,000 to US$50,000, leaving the vast majority of patients without access to care.
Flora says its platform currently reaches more than 10 million prospective policyholders across North America.
The funding will be used to expand Flora’s underwriting capabilities, scale distribution and further develop its platform as it seeks to establish a new market within women’s health and insurance.
Nicole Gunderson, partner at ManchesterStory, said: “Flora is building something that has never existed before, affordable, portable fertility insurance that meets the next generation of women exactly where they are.
“The InsurTech opportunity here is enormous, and the Flora team has the expertise, technology, and vision to define this category.”
Dr Christy Lane, co-founder of Flora Fertility, added: “Fertility has always been treated as unpredictable and uninsurable, but the data tells a different story.
“The earlier someone can access that coverage, the better their outcomes and the lower their costs, which is what makes this model so powerful.
“We’re turning fertility from a reactive medical expense into a proactive, data-driven financial decision.”
By Women’s Health Week
When the New York Stock Exchange signs on as the Official Exchange Partner of a women’s health event, it’s worth paying attention to.
Women’s Health Week USA, taking place May 13-14 at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City, has confirmed the NYSE as its Official Exchange Partner for 2026.
It is one of the most significant institutional endorsements the women’s health sector has seen, and it says something meaningful about where global capital markets are directing their attention.
Find out more about WHW USA 2026 here.
What the Partnership Involves
This is not simply a logo on a lanyard.
The NYSE partnership comes with a set of activations that put women’s health in front of audiences well beyond the event itself.
On the morning of May 13, Women’s Health Week will be featured in the NYSE Market Update, reaching an audience of approximately 200 million viewers across outlets including Yahoo Finance and the Financial Times.
For a sector that has historically struggled for mainstream financial visibility, that kind of reach is significant.
Women’s Health Week will also light up the North Star Billboard in Times Square for a full week around the event, placing the brand at the centre of one of the most commercially visible locations in the world.
NYSE will produce live and taped interviews with WHW leadership and keynote speakers, distributed across NYSE Live, Taking Stock, and partner platforms reaching tens of millions of viewers monthly.
A dedicated NYSE content team will be on the ground at the New York Academy of Medicine capturing the conversations and connections taking place across both days.
The NYSE’s Healthcare & Life Sciences team will also take to the stage at Women’s Health Week USA, sharing their perspective on trends shaping the sector from a capital markets standpoint.
Why It Matters
The partnership is a signal as much as it is a sponsorship.
Women’s health has spent years making the case that it is a commercially serious category.
The NYSE’s involvement makes that case in a language the broader financial world understands.
Women’s Health Week USA 2026 is themed around The Era of Scale, a deliberate framing around the idea that the sector has moved beyond early validation into the harder work of institutionalisation.
Capital is moving. M&A activity is increasing. Generalist investors are entering a space that was once left to specialists. The NYSE partnership fits neatly into that narrative.
With 600+ senior decision makers confirmed across investors, founders, multinationals, payers and policymakers, the event is already one of the most commercially concentrated gatherings in the women’s health calendar.
The NYSE’s reach extends that concentration well beyond the walls of the New York Academy of Medicine.
Find out for yourself why this partnership is so perfect and join Women’s Health Week USA. Secure your ticket here.
The Pitch Sessions
For founders and early-stage companies, Women’s Health Week USA also hosts a mainstage Pitch Session across two categories: Medical Devices & Therapeutics and Consumer & Tech. Fifteen companies will be selected to pitch in front of the full audience.
Applications close April 10.
They are free to submit, and any company working on a condition that affects women exclusively, differently, or disproportionately is eligible.
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