Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT project

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

Peaches, hb9lc.org as the 35-year-old sex employee asked to be recognized, is amongst the more than a 3rd of South African females 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 latest update of the app established by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency button that deploys security officers, a proof 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 situation button that deploys gatekeeper, an an AI-driven chatbot

"This app, it's going to provide me that hope ... that my human rights need to be considered," Peaches informed AFP, asking not to offer her real name to safeguard her security.

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

That exact same year, 5,578 females 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 for free" to evade arrest for prostitution.

"To me, GRIT isn't just a project-- it's a need," creator Leanora Tima informed AFP.

"I wished to develop tech-driven solutions that empower survivors, ensuring they get the urgent aid, legal assistance and psychological support they require without barriers," Tima said.

- 'Roadblocks to assist' -

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

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

"There's a lot of obstructions 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 found aid was available.

A passionate football gamer, she said her coach realised that "some swellings were not really related to football".

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

"It was really heartfelt for me to find such an area," she said, preferring to offer only her given name.

aims to make it easier for ladies to gain access to resources from their homes, where much of the abuse takes place.

It has a map of close-by centers and shelters and kenpoguy.com a digital vault where they can publish proof like images, videos and police reports that will be protected on GRIT's servers.

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

"It will save lives," said one lady at the very same workshop attended 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 information, forum.pinoo.com.tr making it available to those who can not afford phone strategies or archmageriseswiki.com remain in backwoods with restricted 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 initially planned to offer only practical details, like how to obtain a security order.

But its collection has actually been broadened after feedback "that people are more thinking about speaking with Zuzi about ... intimate things" like their health, Sindani said.

- 'All they understand' -

Even if there are more services than ever to assist 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 complicated history of colonisation and segregation, belief in male supremacy, an absence of good good example and economic stresses, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Nation.

"No boy is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose nonprofit concentrates on reaching males. "There's something failing in the journey from kid to guy."

"All they understand is violence," said Sandile Masiza, a coordinator of the GBV Response Team for Johannesburg's child welfare authority.

"We need more programs that are not just going to be solely concentrated on victim support, however criminal prevention," Masiza said.

"Society has actually normalised violence against ladies 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 understand when to report."