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

She states she was violated by authorities. 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 identified, is amongst the more than a 3rd of South African ladies that will experience physical or sexual assault 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 newest update of the app established by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency button that deploys security officers, 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 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 ought to be considered," Peaches told AFP, asking not to offer 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, according to cops figures.

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

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

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

"I wished to create tech-driven services that empower survivors, guaranteeing they get the immediate aid, legal assistance and emotional assistance they need without barriers," Tima said.

- 'Roadblocks to help' -

Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported due to the fact that victims face stigma 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 great deal of roadblocks still in getting gain access to and aid," she said.

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

An avid football gamer, she said her coach understood that "some contusions were not actually associated to football".

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

"It was really heartfelt for me to find such an area," she said, choosing to give only her first name.

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

It has a map of neighboring centers and shelters and a digital vault where they can publish proof like images, videos and police reports that will be secured on GRIT's servers.

The features are based on user feedback collected at workshops around the country.

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

The app is free, 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 information, systemcheck-wiki.de making it available to those who can not manage phone plans or remain in backwoods with minimal networks.

The chatbot Zuzi, to be launched 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 intended to offer only practical details, like how to obtain a protection order.

But its repertoire has been expanded after feedback "that people are more thinking about speaking to 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 attacked 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 an intricate history of colonisation and segregation, belief in male supremacy, a lack of great good example and economic stresses, said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Country.

"No kid is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose not-for-profit focuses 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 kid well-being authority.

"We need more programs that are not simply going to be exclusively concentrated on victim support, but criminal prevention," Masiza said.

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

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