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Zanele Sokatsha, centre, securityholes.science lead research study for the GRIT task

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

Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex worker asked to be determined, is amongst the more than a 3rd of South African women 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 females who collected late January to workshop the latest 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 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 offer me that hope ... that my human rights must be thought about," Peaches informed AFP, asking not to provide her real name to safeguard her safety.

There were more than 53,000 sexual offenses reported in South Africa in 2023-24, christianpedia.com including more than 42,500 rapes, according to cops figures.

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

In Peaches' case, she said she was required to give two police officers "services free of charge" to evade arrest for prostitution.

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

"I wished to develop tech-driven solutions that empower survivors, guaranteeing they receive 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 due to the fact that victims deal with preconception or are turned away by authorities, said GRIT lead researcher Zanele Sokatsha.

'There's a lot of obstructions 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, a lady in her 30s, said she sustained years of physical abuse by her stepfather before she discovered aid was available.

A devoted football gamer, she said her coach understood that "some swellings were not in fact related to football".

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

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

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

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

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

"It will conserve lives," said one woman 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 information, making it available to those who can not afford phone strategies or remain in backwoods with minimal 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 initially intended to supply only practical details, like how to obtain a protection order.

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

- 'All they understand' -

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 an intricate history of colonisation and partition, belief in male supremacy, a lack of excellent good example and economic stresses, said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Nation.

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

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

"We need more programs that are not just going to be exclusively concentrated on victim assistance, but perpetrator prevention," Masiza said.

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

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