Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT task

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

Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex worker asked to be recognized, is among the more than a 3rd of South African females 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 gathered late January to workshop the current update of the app developed by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency button that releases security officers, an evidence vault and a resource centre, the app will also consist of 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 releases gatekeeper, an an AI-driven chatbot

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

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

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

In Peaches' case, annunciogratis.net she said she was forced to offer 2 police officers "services for complimentary" to evade arrest for prostitution.

"To me, GRIT isn't simply a project-- it's a necessity," creator Leanora Tima informed AFP.

"I wished to create tech-driven options that empower survivors, guaranteeing they receive the urgent aid, legal guidance and psychological assistance they need without barriers," Tima said.

- 'Roadblocks to help' -

Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported because victims face stigma or are turned away by authorities, forum.altaycoins.com said GRIT lead researcher Zanele Sokatsha.

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

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

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

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

It was just when the coach took the team to an anti-GBV occasion in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, that she found out there were organisations that help females in her situation.

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

GRIT's app aims to make it simpler for wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de women to gain access to resources from their homes, where much of the abuse happens.

It has a map of neighboring clinics and shelters and a digital vault where they can upload evidence like photos, wiki.lafabriquedelalogistique.fr videos and cops reports that will be protected on GRIT's servers.

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

"It will save lives," said one woman at the same workshop participated in by Peaches.

The app is totally free, moneyed by GRIT's donors including 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 areas 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 at first planned to provide only practical details, like how to obtain a protection order.

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

- 'All they know' -

Even if there are more services than ever to assist women 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 "a best storm" of an intricate history of colonisation and partition, belief in male dominance, a lack of excellent function models and economic tensions, pl.velo.wiki said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Country.

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

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

"We need more programmes that are not simply going to be solely focused on victim support, but wrongdoer avoidance," Masiza said.

"Society has normalised violence against women and women," UN Women GBV specialist informed AFP.

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