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

She says she was breached by police. Now she's brainstorming an AI -integrated app with a panic button that alerts personal security to assist other females caught in South Africa's tragically high rates of abuse.

Peaches, oke.zone as the 35-year-old sex employee asked to be identified, is amongst 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 latest update of the app developed by the nonprofit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency situation button that deploys security officers, 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 should be considered," Peaches informed AFP, asking not to give her real name to safeguard her safety.

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

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

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

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

"I wished to produce tech-driven solutions that empower survivors, ensuring they get the urgent aid, legal assistance 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 scientist Zanele Sokatsha.

'There's a lot of roadblocks 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 gamer, she said her coach realised that "some swellings were not in fact associated to football".

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

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

aims to make it easier for females to gain access to resources from their homes, where much of the abuse occurs.

It has a map of nearby clinics and shelters and a digital vault where they can submit evidence like pictures, videos and authorities reports that will be safeguarded on GRIT's servers.

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

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

The app is complimentary, funded by GRIT's donors consisting of 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 manage 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 likewise integrated into certain social platforms, technical lead Lebogang Sindani said.

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

But its collection has actually been broadened after feedback "that individuals are more thinking about talking to 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 "a perfect storm" of a complex history of colonisation and partition, belief in male dominance, an absence of excellent good example and financial tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Country.

"No kid 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 man."

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

"We require more programmes that are not simply going to be solely focused on victim support, but perpetrator avoidance," Masiza said.

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