Zanele Sokatsha, asteroidsathome.net centre, lead research for the GRIT project

She says she was violated by police. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that informs private security to help other females 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 third of South African women 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 women 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 gatekeeper, an evidence vault and a resource centre, demo.qkseo.in the app will also 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 situation button that releases security officers, an an AI-driven chatbot

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

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

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

In Peaches' case, she said she was forced to provide two law enforcement officers "services free of charge" to avert arrest for prostitution.

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

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

- 'Roadblocks to help' -

Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported due to the fact that victims face preconception 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 says

"There's a great deal of roadblocks 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.

A devoted football player, she said her coach understood that "some contusions were not in fact associated to football".

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

"It was in fact heartwarming for me to find such a space," she said, preferring to offer just her very 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 takes place.

It has a map of neighboring centers and shelters and a digital vault where they can submit evidence like photos, videos and police reports that will be protected 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 gone to by Peaches.

The app is complimentary, moneyed by GRIT's donors including 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 pay for phone strategies or mediawiki.hcah.in remain in rural areas with limited 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 initially planned to supply only useful details, like how to obtain a protection order.

But its repertoire has actually been expanded after feedback "that individuals 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 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 "an ideal storm" of an intricate history of colonisation and segregation, belief in male supremacy, an absence of good function models and economic tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Country.

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

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

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

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

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