Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT project

She states she was violated by cops. Now she’s brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that alerts personal security to help other females captured in South Africa’s tragically high rates of abuse.

Peaches, gdprhub.eu as the 35-year-old sex worker asked to be recognized, is amongst the more than a 3rd of South African ladies that will experience physical or sexual assault in their lifetimes, according to UN figures.

Slender and outspoken, forum.altaycoins.com she remained in a group of around 15 ladies who gathered late January to workshop the most recent upgrade of the app developed by the nonprofit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency situation button that releases security officers, a proof vault and a resource centre, the app will likewise include an AI-driven chatbot called Zuzi that will be showcased at the 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 give me that hope ... that my human rights need to be thought about,” 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, including more than 42,500 rapes, according to cops figures.

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

In Peaches’ case, visualchemy.gallery she said she was forced to give two policemans “services for totally free” to evade arrest for prostitution.

"To me, GRIT isn’t simply a project-- it’s a requirement,” creator Leanora Tima informed AFP.

"I desired to produce tech-driven options that empower survivors, guaranteeing they get the urgent aid, legal assistance and psychological 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 stigma or are turned away by authorities, said GRIT lead researcher Zanele Sokatsha.

‘There’s a lot of obstructions 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 female in her 30s, bio.rogstecnologia.com.br said she sustained years of physical abuse by her stepfather before she found aid was available.

A devoted football player, she said her coach realised that “some swellings were not actually related to football”.

It was only when the coach took the team to an anti-GBV event in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, that she discovered there were organisations that assist women in her scenario.

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

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

It has a map of nearby centers and shelters and a digital vault where they can upload proof like pictures, videos and police reports that will be safeguarded on GRIT’s servers.

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

"It will conserve lives,” said one female at the exact same workshop attended by Peaches.

The app is totally 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, 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 also 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 protection order.

But its repertoire has been expanded after feedback “that people are more thinking about 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 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 a complex history of colonisation and partition, belief in male dominance, surgiteams.com an absence of good role models and economic tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Nation.

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

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

"We require more programmes that are not just going to be exclusively focused on victim assistance, however criminal prevention,” Masiza said.

"Society has normalised violence against females and women,” UN Women GBV specialist Jennifer Acio told 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.“