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

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

Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex employee asked to be determined, is among the more than a third of South African women that will experience physical or sexual abuse in their life times, according to UN figures.

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

Equipped with an emergency situation button that deploys gatekeeper, a proof vault and a resource centre, the app will likewise 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 security officers, an an AI -driven chatbot

"This app, it's going to provide me that hope ... that my human rights should be considered," Peaches told AFP, asking not to offer her real name to secure her safety.

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

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

In Peaches' case, she said she was forced to give 2 law enforcement officers "services totally free" to avert arrest for prostitution.

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

"I desired to produce tech-driven solutions that empower survivors, guaranteeing they get the urgent aid, legal guidance and emotional assistance they need without barriers," Tima said.

- 'Roadblocks to help' -

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

'There's a great deal of obstructions still in getting gain access to and demo.qkseo.in aid,' Sokatsha says

"There's a great deal of obstructions still in getting gain access to and aid," she said.

Thato, a woman 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 bruises were not in fact related to football".

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

"It was actually heartwarming for me to discover such an area," she said, choosing to provide just her given 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 upload evidence like pictures, 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 conserve lives," said one lady at the very same workshop attended by Peaches.

The app is complimentary, funded by GRIT's donors including the Gates Foundation and Expertise France. It currently has 12,000 users.

Once downloaded, it can work without information, making it available to those who can not manage phone strategies or remain in rural areas with limited networks.

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

Zuzi was initially intended to provide only practical details, like how to obtain a protection order.

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

- 'All they know' -

Even if there are more services than ever to assist 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 complicated history of colonisation and partition, belief in male dominance, an absence of good function designs and financial tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Nation.

"No young boy is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose not-for-profit focuses on reaching men. "There's something failing in the journey from boy to man."

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

"We need more programmes that are not simply going to be exclusively concentrated on victim assistance, but criminal avoidance," Masiza said.

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

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