Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT job

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

Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex worker asked to be identified, is among 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 most recent update of the app developed by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency situation button that releases gatekeeper, sitiosecuador.com 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 button that deploys security officers, an an AI-driven chatbot

"This app, it's going to give me that hope ... that my human rights should be considered," Peaches told AFP, asking not to give her genuine name to secure 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 police 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 give two policemans "services for totally free" to evade arrest for prostitution.

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

"I wished to develop tech-driven options that empower survivors, ensuring they receive the immediate aid, legal guidance and psychological support they need without barriers," Tima said.

- 'Roadblocks to assist' -

Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported since 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 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.

An avid football player, she said her coach understood that "some bruises were not actually related to football".

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

"It was actually heartfelt for me to discover such a space," she said, choosing to give just her given 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 clinics and shelters and a digital vault where they can publish evidence like photos, videos and police reports that will be secured on GRIT's servers.

The features are based upon user feedback gathered at workshops around the country.

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

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

Once downloaded, it can work without data, making it available to those who can not afford phone plans or remain in backwoods with restricted networks.

The chatbot Zuzi, to be released 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 supply only useful details, like how to obtain a protection order.

But its collection has been broadened 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 help 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 a of colonisation and partition, belief in male supremacy, an absence of good function designs and economic stresses, said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Nation.

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

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

"We need more programmes that are not just going to be entirely concentrated on victim assistance, but perpetrator avoidance," Masiza said.

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