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Zanele Sokatsha, elearnportal.science centre, lead research for the GRIT job

She says she was violated by authorities. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that signals personal security to help other ladies caught in South Africa's tragically high rates of abuse.

Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex worker asked to be determined, is amongst the more than a third of South African females 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 women who collected late January to workshop the latest update of the app developed by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency situation button that releases gatekeeper, 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 releases gatekeeper, an an AI-driven chatbot

"This app, it's going to offer me that hope ... that my human rights need to be considered," Peaches informed AFP, asking not to give her genuine name to protect her safety.

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

In Peaches' case, she said she was forced to offer two authorities officers "services free of charge" to avert arrest for prostitution.

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

"I wanted to develop tech-driven options that empower survivors, ensuring they receive the urgent aid, legal guidance and emotional assistance they need without barriers," Tima said.

- 'Roadblocks to assist' -

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

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

"There's a lot of obstructions 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 bruises were not actually related to football".

It was just when the coach took the team to an anti-GBV event in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, that she learned there were organisations that help women in her circumstance.

"It was in fact heartwarming for me to discover such an area," she said, choosing to provide only her given name.

GRIT's app aims to make it simpler 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 submit like photos, videos and cops reports that will be safeguarded on GRIT's servers.

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

"It will conserve lives," said one lady at the exact same workshop attended by Peaches.

The app is totally 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, making it available to those who can not pay for phone plans or remain in rural areas with restricted networks.

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

Zuzi was initially intended to offer only practical details, like how to obtain a security order.

But its repertoire has been broadened after feedback "that people are more thinking about talking 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 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 supremacy, a lack of excellent function designs and financial stresses, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Country.

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

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

"We require more programmes that are not simply going to be exclusively concentrated on victim support, however wrongdoer avoidance," Masiza said.

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

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