Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research study for historydb.date the GRIT job

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

Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex worker asked to be identified, is among the more than a 3rd of South African females that will experience physical or sexual abuse in their life times, according to UN figures.

Slender and outspoken, she remained in a group of around 15 ladies who gathered 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 deploys security officers, an evidence vault and a resource centre, the app will also 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 situation button that deploys gatekeeper, an an AI-driven chatbot

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

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 women were killed, a 34 percent rise from the previous year.

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

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

"I wished to create tech-driven services 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 preconception or are turned away by authorities, said GRIT lead researcher 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 woman in her 30s, said she years of physical abuse by her stepfather before she discovered aid was available.

An avid football player, she said her coach realised that "some bruises were not actually related to football".

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

"It was actually heartwarming for me to discover such an area," she said, preferring to give only her given name.

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

It has a map of close-by clinics and shelters and a digital vault where they can publish proof like photos, videos and authorities reports that will be safeguarded on GRIT's servers.

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

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

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

Once downloaded, it can work without data, oke.zone making it available to those who can not pay for phone plans or remain in rural locations with minimal networks.

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

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

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

- 'All they understand' -

Even if there are more services than ever to help females 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 best storm" of a complex history of colonisation and partition, belief in male dominance, a lack of good good example and economic stresses, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Nation.

"No young boy is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose not-for-profit concentrates on reaching guys. "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 welfare authority.

"We require more programs that are not simply going to be solely focused on victim support, but perpetrator avoidance," Masiza said.

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

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