Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research study for the GRIT project
She states she was broken by cops. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that alerts 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 third of South African females that will experience physical or sexual abuse in their life times, according to UN figures.
Slender and outspoken, morphomics.science 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 (Gender Rights In Tech).
Equipped with an emergency situation button that deploys gatekeeper, a proof vault and a resource centre, the app will likewise 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 security officers, prawattasao.awardspace.info an an AI-driven chatbot
"This app, it's going to offer me that hope ... that my human rights must be considered," Peaches informed AFP, asking not to offer her real name to protect 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 women were killed, a 34 percent increase from the previous year.
In Peaches' case, she said she was required to provide 2 police officers "services for complimentary" to avert arrest for prostitution.
"To me, GRIT isn't simply a job-- it's a necessity," founder Leanora Tima informed AFP.
"I desired to produce tech-driven options that empower survivors, guaranteeing they receive the immediate aid, legal guidance and emotional support they require without barriers," Tima said.
- 'Roadblocks to assist' -
Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported because victims face 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 aid,' Sokatsha says
"There's a great deal 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 player, she said her coach understood that "some bruises were not in fact related to football".
It was just when the coach took the group to an anti-GBV event in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, that she learned there were organisations that assist women in her circumstance.
"It was in fact heartfelt for me to discover such an area," she said, preferring to provide only her very first name.
GRIT's app aims to make it simpler 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 submit evidence like images, videos and cops reports that will be safeguarded on GRIT's servers.
The features are based on user feedback collected at workshops around the nation.
"It will save lives," said one woman at the same workshop participated in by Peaches.
The app is 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 information, making it available to those who can not afford 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 also integrated into certain social platforms, technical lead Lebogang Sindani said.
Zuzi was initially planned to provide only practical details, like how to obtain a security order.
But its collection has actually been broadened after feedback "that people are more interested in talking with 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 "an ideal storm" of a complicated history of colonisation and segregation, belief in male dominance, an absence of great good example and economic stresses, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Country.
"No boy is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, akropolistravel.com whose nonprofit focuses on reaching males. "There's something failing in the journey from young boy to male."
"All they understand is violence," said Sandile Masiza, an organizer of the GBV Response Team for Johannesburg's kid well-being authority.
"We require more programmes that are not just going to be solely focused on victim assistance, but criminal prevention," Masiza said.
"Society has normalised violence against women and girls," 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."
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AI App Offers a Lifeline For S.Africa's Abused Women
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