Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT task

She states she was violated by cops. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that alerts personal security to assist other females caught in South Africa's unfortunately high rates of abuse.

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

Slender and outspoken, she remained in a group of around 15 women who collected late January to workshop the most recent update 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 called Zuzi that will be showcased at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris this month.

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

"This app, it's going to provide me that hope ... that my human rights should be considered," Peaches told AFP, asking not to offer her genuine name to secure her security.

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

That exact same year, 5,578 females were killed, a 34 percent increase from the previous year.

In Peaches' case, she said she was forced to give two policemans "services totally free" to avert arrest for prostitution.

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

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

- 'Roadblocks to help' -

Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported because victims deal with stigma or are turned away by authorities, said GRIT lead scientist Zanele Sokatsha.

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

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

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

A devoted football player, she said her coach realised that "some swellings were not actually related to football".

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

"It was really heartwarming for me to discover such a space," she said, preferring to provide only her first name.

GRIT's app aims to make it much easier for ladies to gain access to resources from their homes, where much of the abuse occurs.

It has a map of nearby centers and shelters and a digital vault where they can submit proof like images, videos and authorities reports that will be secured on GRIT's servers.

The features are based upon user feedback collected at workshops around the nation.

"It will conserve lives," said one lady at the exact same workshop participated in by Peaches.

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

Once downloaded, it can work without information, making it available to those who can not manage phone plans or wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de remain in backwoods with restricted networks.

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

Zuzi was initially intended to offer only useful details, like how to obtain a security order.

But its collection has actually been widened after feedback "that people are more thinking about talking to Zuzi about ... intimate things" like their health, Sindani said.

- 'All they know' -

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

It is "a perfect storm" of a complex history of colonisation and partition, drapia.org belief in male supremacy, a lack of good function designs and financial tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Nation.

"No kid is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose not-for-profit focuses on reaching men. "There's something failing in the journey from kid to guy."

"All they understand is violence," said Sandile Masiza, a planner of the GBV Response Team for Johannesburg's child well-being authority.

"We need more programs that are not simply going to be exclusively focused on victim support, however perpetrator prevention," Masiza said.

"Society has normalised violence against females and ladies," UN Women GBV professional Jennifer Acio informed AFP.

"That's why we keep sharing details and attempting to empower ladies ... to know what is an abuse of their rights, to know when to report."