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

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

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

Slender and outspoken, she remained in a group of around 15 ladies who collected late January to workshop the most recent update of the app developed by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency button that releases gatekeeper, an evidence vault and a resource centre, the app will also consist of an AI-driven chatbot called Zuzi that will be showcased at the 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 need to be considered," Peaches informed AFP, asking not to offer her real name to protect her security.

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 ladies were killed, a 34 percent rise from the previous year.

In Peaches' case, she said she was forced to give 2 police officers "services for complimentary" to avert arrest for prostitution.

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

"I desired to develop tech-driven options that empower survivors, guaranteeing they receive 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 because victims face 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 roadblocks still in getting gain access to and aid," she said.

Thato, wiki.fablabbcn.org a female in her 30s, said she sustained years of physical abuse by her stepfather before she found aid was available.

A passionate football player, she said her coach understood 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 help women in her circumstance.

"It was in fact heartfelt for me to find such a space," she said, preferring to provide only her very 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 occurs.

It has a map of neighboring clinics and shelters and a digital vault where they can upload proof like photos, videos and cops reports that will be protected on GRIT's servers.

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

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

The app is free, 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, wiki.monnaie-libre.fr making it available to those who can not pay for phone strategies or remain in rural areas with minimal networks.

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

Zuzi was initially planned to offer only practical details, like how to obtain a defense order.

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

- 'All they understand' -

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 perfect storm" of an intricate history of colonisation and partition, belief in male dominance, a lack of great good example and financial tensions, drapia.org said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Nation.

"No young boy is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, timeoftheworld.date whose nonprofit concentrates on reaching men. "There's something failing in the journey from young boy to man."

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

"We require more programs that are not just going to be exclusively focused on victim support, but perpetrator prevention," Masiza said.

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

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