GitLab

Zanele Sokatsha, asteroidsathome.net centre, lead research for the GRIT project

She states she was broken by police. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that notifies personal security to help other women caught in South Africa's tragically high rates of abuse.

Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex worker asked to be recognized, is among the more than a 3rd of South African women that will experience physical or sexual assault in their lifetimes, according to UN figures.

Slender and addsub.wiki outspoken, she remained in a group of around 15 ladies who gathered late January to workshop the most recent 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 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 button that releases gatekeeper, an an AI-driven chatbot

"This app, it's going to provide me that hope ... that my human rights must be thought about," Peaches told AFP, asking not to give her real name to safeguard her security.

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

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

In Peaches' case, she said she was required to give 2 policemans "services free of charge" to evade arrest for prostitution.

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

"I desired to develop tech-driven services that empower survivors, guaranteeing they get the urgent aid, legal assistance and emotional assistance they require without barriers," Tima said.

- 'Roadblocks to help' -

Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported since victims face preconception or are turned away by authorities, said GRIT lead scientist Zanele Sokatsha.

'There's a lot of obstructions 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 devoted football player, she said her coach realised that "some bruises were not in fact associated to football".

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

"It was actually heartfelt for me to find such a space," she said, choosing to provide just her first name.

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

It has a map of nearby centers and shelters and a digital vault where they can upload evidence like photos, videos and police reports that will be secured on GRIT's servers.

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

"It will save lives," said one lady at the same workshop attended 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 data, pl.velo.wiki making it available to those who can not pay for phone plans or remain in backwoods with restricted networks.

The chatbot Zuzi, to be launched in the coming months, will be available on the app and forum.pinoo.com.tr also integrated into certain social platforms, technical lead Lebogang Sindani said.

Zuzi was at first intended to provide only practical details, photorum.eclat-mauve.fr like how to obtain a protection order.

But its repertoire has been broadened after feedback "that individuals 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 help females 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 a complex history of colonisation and segregation, links.gtanet.com.br belief in male supremacy, an absence of good good example and financial tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Nation.

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

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

"We require more programs that are not simply going to be solely focused on victim assistance, however wrongdoer avoidance," Masiza said.

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

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