Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT task

She says she was violated by cops. Now she’s brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that signals 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 determined, allmy.bio is among the more than a 3rd 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 developed by the (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency button that deploys gatekeeper, an evidence vault and a resource centre, the app will likewise 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 situation button that releases gatekeeper, an an AI-driven chatbot

"This app, it’s going to provide me that hope ... that my human rights ought to be considered,” Peaches told AFP, asking not to offer her real name to safeguard 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 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 2 law enforcement officers “services free of charge” to evade arrest for prostitution.

"To me, GRIT isn’t just a project-- it’s a need,” founder Leanora Tima told AFP.

"I wanted to create tech-driven services that empower survivors, guaranteeing they receive the immediate aid, legal guidance and emotional support they need without barriers,” Tima said.

- ‘Roadblocks to help’ -

Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported since 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 says

"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 sustained years of physical abuse by her stepfather before she discovered aid was available.

A devoted football gamer, she said her coach realised that “some contusions were not really related 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 help ladies in her scenario.

"It was actually heartfelt for me to discover such an area,” she said, choosing to offer just her very first name.

GRIT’s app aims to make it easier for females to gain access to resources from their homes, where much of the abuse happens.

It has a map of neighboring centers and shelters and wiki.rrtn.org a digital vault where they can publish evidence like images, videos and authorities reports that will be safeguarded on GRIT’s servers.

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

"It will save lives,” said one female at the very same workshop gone to by Peaches.

The app is totally free, sitiosecuador.com funded 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 pay for phone plans or remain in rural locations with limited networks.

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

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

But its collection has actually been widened after feedback “that individuals are more interested in speaking 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 an intricate history of colonisation and segregation, belief in male dominance, a lack of good good example and economic tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Country.

"No kid is born an abuser,” said Wilkinson, whose not-for-profit focuses on reaching males. “There’s something failing in the journey from boy to man.“

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

"We require more programmes that are not just going to be exclusively focused on victim support, but wrongdoer prevention,” Masiza said.

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

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