AI App Offers A Lifeline For S.Africa s Abused Women

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


She states she was violated by cops. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that informs personal security to help other ladies captured in South Africa's unfortunately 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 women that will experience physical or sexual abuse in their lifetimes, according to UN figures.


Slender and outspoken, she remained in a group of around 15 females who gathered late January to workshop the latest update of the app established by the nonprofit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).


Equipped with an emergency button that releases gatekeeper, an evidence vault and wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de a resource centre, the app will also consist of an 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 give me that hope ... that my human rights ought to be considered," 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 exact same year, 5,578 women were killed, hb9lc.org a 34 percent increase from the previous year.


In Peaches' case, she said she was required to give two authorities officers "services for complimentary" to avert arrest for prostitution.


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


"I wished to produce tech-driven services that empower survivors, ensuring they receive the immediate aid, legal assistance and emotional support they require without barriers," Tima said.


- 'Roadblocks to help' -


Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported because victims face stigma or setiathome.berkeley.edu 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 states


"There's a lot of roadblocks 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.


A passionate football player, she said her coach understood that "some bruises were not in fact associated to football".


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


"It was really heartfelt for me to find such a space," she said, preferring to offer 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 occurs.


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


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


"It will save lives," said one woman at the exact same workshop participated in by Peaches.


The app is free, links.gtanet.com.br funded by GRIT's donors including the Gates Foundation and Expertise France. It already has 12,000 users.


Once downloaded, it can work without information, making it available to those who can not pay for phone strategies or remain in backwoods with minimal networks.


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


Zuzi was initially planned to supply only useful details, like how to obtain a protection order.


But its repertoire has actually been broadened after feedback "that individuals are more interested in speaking with 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 assaulted 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 supremacy, an absence of good role designs and financial stresses, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Country.


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


"All they understand is violence," said Sandile Masiza, a coordinator of the GBV Response Team for Johannesburg's child well-being authority.


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


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


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