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Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT job

She states she was broken by authorities. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that informs private security to assist other women captured in South Africa's unfortunately high rates of abuse.

Peaches, oke.zone as the 35-year-old sex employee asked to be recognized, is among the more than a third of South African women that will experience physical or sexual abuse in their lifetimes, utahsyardsale.com according to UN figures.

Slender and outspoken, she remained in a group of around 15 women who gathered late January to workshop the latest upgrade of the app developed by the not-for-profit 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 Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris this month.

The app has an emergency button that deploys security officers, kenpoguy.com 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, asking not to offer her genuine name to protect her safety.

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

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

In Peaches' case, she said she was required to give 2 policemans "services totally free" to avert arrest for prostitution.

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

"I desired to develop tech-driven services that empower survivors, guaranteeing they get the immediate aid, legal guidance and psychological assistance they need without barriers," Tima said.

- 'Roadblocks to assist' -

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

a lot of obstructions still in getting gain access to and aid,' Sokatsha says

"There's a great deal of obstructions 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.

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

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

"It was in fact heartwarming for me to discover such an area," she said, preferring to give just her 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 hb9lc.org a digital vault where they can submit evidence like pictures, videos and cops reports that will be protected 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 same workshop participated in by Peaches.

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

Once downloaded, it can work without data, making it available to those who can not afford phone strategies or remain in backwoods with limited networks.

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

Zuzi was initially meant to provide only practical details, like how to obtain a protection order.

But its repertoire has been broadened after feedback "that people are more thinking about talking to Zuzi about ... intimate things" like their health, Sindani said.

- 'All they understand' -

Even if there are more services than ever to assist 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 a complex history of colonisation and segregation, belief in male supremacy, a lack of excellent function models and financial tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Nation.

"No young boy is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose not-for-profit focuses on reaching men. "There's something failing in the journey from young boy to man."

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

"We need more programs that are not simply going to be entirely focused on victim support, however criminal prevention," Masiza said.

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

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