GitLab

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 notifies private security to help other women captured in South Africa's unfortunately high rates of abuse.

Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex employee asked to be recognized, is among the more than a third of South African ladies that will experience physical or sexual assault in their life times, according to UN figures.

Slender and outspoken, she remained in a group of around 15 females who gathered late January to workshop the newest upgrade of the app developed by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency button that releases security officers, sitiosecuador.com an evidence vault and a resource centre, 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 security officers, an an AI-driven chatbot

"This app, it's going to provide me that hope ... that my human rights must be thought about," Peaches informed AFP, asking not to offer her real name to secure 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 authorities figures.

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

In Peaches' case, classifieds.ocala-news.com she said she was forced to provide two policemans "services totally free" to evade arrest for prostitution.

"To me, GRIT isn't simply a task-- it's a necessity," founder Leanora Tima informed AFP.

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

- 'Roadblocks to assist' -

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

'There's a great deal of obstructions still in getting gain access to and aid,' Sokatsha states

"There's a great deal of roadblocks still in getting gain access to and aid," she said.

Thato, a lady 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 understood that "some contusions were not really associated to football".

It was only when the coach took the team to an anti-GBV event in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, oke.zone that she found out there were organisations that in her situation.

"It was actually heartwarming for me to find such an area," she said, choosing to offer only her first name.

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

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

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

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

The app is free, moneyed by GRIT's donors consisting of 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 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 practical details, like how to obtain a protection order.

But its repertoire has actually been widened after feedback "that people are more interested in speaking with Zuzi about ... intimate things" like their health, Sindani said.

- 'All they know' -

Even if there are more services than ever to help ladies 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 best storm" of a complex history of colonisation and partition, belief in male dominance, an absence of excellent good example and financial stresses, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Nation.

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

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

"We require more programmes that are not just going to be entirely concentrated on victim support, however wrongdoer prevention," Masiza said.

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

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