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Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research study for the GRIT task

She states she was breached by cops. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that informs private security to help other ladies caught in South Africa's unfortunately high rates of abuse.

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

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

Equipped with an emergency button that deploys 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 gatekeeper, an an AI-driven chatbot

"This app, it's going to offer me that hope ... that my human rights should be considered," Peaches told AFP, asking not to offer her genuine 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 authorities figures.

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

In Peaches' case, she said she was forced to provide two law enforcement officers "services totally free" to avert arrest for prostitution.

"To me, GRIT isn't simply a task-- it's a need," creator Leanora Tima told AFP.

"I wished to produce tech-driven solutions that empower survivors, guaranteeing they get the immediate aid, legal guidance and psychological 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 scientist 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, bytes-the-dust.com said she sustained years of physical abuse by her stepfather before she discovered aid was available.

An avid football gamer, townshipmarket.co.za she said her coach realised that "some bruises were not actually related to football".

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

"It was really heartfelt for me to discover such an area," she said, to provide just her given name.

GRIT's app aims to make it much easier for females to gain access to resources from their homes, koha-community.cz where much of the abuse occurs.

It has a map of close-by centers and shelters and a digital vault where they can submit evidence like pictures, videos and cops reports that will be protected on GRIT's servers.

The features are based upon user feedback gathered at workshops around the nation.

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

The app is totally 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 plans or remain in backwoods with limited networks.

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

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

But its collection has actually been broadened after feedback "that individuals are more interested in talking 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 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 supremacy, a lack of good good example and financial stresses, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Country.

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

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

"We need more programmes that are not simply going to be entirely focused on victim support, but wrongdoer avoidance," Masiza said.

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

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