Zanele Sokatsha, centre, gratisafhalen.be lead research study for the GRIT job

She says she was breached by cops. Now she's brainstorming an with a panic button that notifies personal security to help other females caught in South Africa's unfortunately 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 ladies 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 gathered late January to workshop the most recent upgrade of the app established by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency button that deploys security officers, genbecle.com an evidence vault and tandme.co.uk a resource centre, bytes-the-dust.com 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 button that deploys gatekeeper, an an AI-driven chatbot

"This app, it's going to provide me that hope ... that my human rights ought to be thought about," Peaches told AFP, bphomesteading.com asking not to give her real name to protect 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 authorities figures.

That same year, 5,578 women were killed, a 34 percent rise from the previous year.

In Peaches' case, she said she was required to offer two law enforcement officers "services totally free" to evade arrest for prostitution.

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

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

- 'Roadblocks to help' -

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

'There's a lot 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 gamer, she said her coach understood that "some bruises were not actually related to football".

It was only when the coach took the group to an anti-GBV occasion in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, that she learned there were organisations that help females in her scenario.

"It was in fact heartwarming for me to find such an area," she said, preferring to give just her very first name.

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

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

The functions are based upon user feedback gathered at workshops around the country.

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

The app is complimentary, moneyed by GRIT's donors including the Gates Foundation and Expertise France. It already has 12,000 users.

Once downloaded, it can work without information, making it available to those who can not afford phone strategies or wiki.dulovic.tech remain in rural locations with restricted networks.

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

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

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

- 'All they understand' -

Even if there are more services than ever to help 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 perfect storm" of an intricate history of colonisation and partition, belief in male dominance, an absence of excellent good example 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 guy."

"All they know is violence," said Sandile Masiza, a planner of the GBV Response Team for Johannesburg's child welfare authority.

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

"Society has actually normalised violence against women and women," UN Women GBV expert Jennifer Acio informed AFP.

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