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Zanele Sokatsha, centre, ai lead research study for the GRIT project

She states she was breached by authorities. Now she's brainstorming an AI -integrated app with a panic button that alerts personal security to help other ladies captured in South Africa's tragically high rates of abuse.

Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex worker asked to be recognized, is amongst the more than a 3rd of South African ladies that will experience physical or sexual assault in their lifetimes, according to UN figures.

Slender and outspoken, elearnportal.science she remained in a group of around 15 ladies who collected late January to workshop the most recent upgrade of the app developed by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency situation button that releases security officers, a proof vault and a resource centre, the app will likewise include an AI -driven chatbot called Zuzi that will be showcased at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris this month.

The app has an emergency button that deploys gatekeeper, an an AI -driven chatbot

"This app, it's going to give me that hope ... that my human rights need to be thought about," Peaches informed AFP, asking not to offer her real name to safeguard her safety.

There were more than 53,000 sexual offenses reported in South Africa in 2023-24, consisting of more than 42,500 rapes, according to cops figures.

That same year, 5,578 women were murdered, a 34 percent increase from the previous year.

In Peaches' case, she said she was forced to give 2 cops officers "services for complimentary" to evade arrest for prostitution.

"To me, GRIT isn't just a task-- it's a necessity," founder Leanora Tima told AFP.

"I wanted to develop tech-driven options that empower survivors, ensuring they get the urgent aid, legal guidance and emotional assistance they require without barriers," Tima said.

- 'Roadblocks to assist' -

Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported due to the fact that victims deal with stigma or are turned away by authorities, said GRIT lead researcher Zanele Sokatsha.

'There's a great deal of obstructions still in getting gain access to and aid, states

"There's a great deal of obstructions still in getting gain access to and aid," she said.

Thato, a female in her 30s, said she sustained years of physical abuse by her stepfather before she discovered aid was available.

An avid football player, she said her coach understood that "some bruises were not in fact related to football".

It was just when the coach took the team to an anti-GBV event in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, that she learned there were organisations that help ladies in her circumstance.

"It was really heartwarming for me to find such a space," she said, choosing to provide only her given name.

GRIT's app aims to make it simpler for women to gain access to resources from their homes, where much of the abuse takes place.

It has a map of close-by clinics and shelters and a digital vault where they can submit evidence like pictures, videos and police reports that will be safeguarded on GRIT's servers.

The features are based on user feedback collected at workshops around the country.

"It will conserve lives," said one lady at the very same workshop gone to by Peaches.

The app is free, moneyed by GRIT's donors consisting of the Gates Foundation and Expertise France. It currently has 12,000 users.

Once downloaded, it can work without data, making it available to those who can not manage phone strategies or remain in rural locations with limited networks.

The chatbot Zuzi, to be launched in the coming months, will be available on the app and also integrated into certain social platforms, technical lead Lebogang Sindani said.

Zuzi was at first meant to offer only useful details, like how to obtain a security order.

But its repertoire has actually been expanded after feedback "that people are more thinking about speaking with Zuzi about ... intimate things" like their health, Sindani said.

- 'All they understand' -

Even if there are more services than ever to assist females who are assaulted and strong public condemnation of cases that make it to the media, South Africa's abuse rates remain stubbornly high.

It is "an ideal storm" of an intricate history of colonisation and segregation, belief in male dominance, an absence of good good example and financial tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Country.

"No boy is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose nonprofit focuses on reaching guys. "There's something failing in the journey from boy to man."

"All they understand is violence," said Sandile Masiza, an organizer of the GBV Response Team for Johannesburg's kid welfare authority.

"We need more programmes that are not just going to be entirely focused on victim assistance, but criminal prevention," Masiza said.

"Society has normalised violence against women and girls," UN Women GBV professional Jennifer Acio told AFP.

"That's why we keep sharing details and trying to empower females ... to understand what is an abuse of their rights, to understand when to report."