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

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


She states she was breached by police. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that informs private security to assist other women caught in South Africa's unfortunately high rates of abuse.


Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex employee asked to be determined, is among the more than a 3rd 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 collected late January to workshop the current upgrade of the app developed by the nonprofit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).


Equipped with an emergency button that releases security officers, an evidence vault and a resource centre, the app will also 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 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 offer her real name to secure her security.


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 women were murdered, a 34 percent increase from the previous year.


In Peaches' case, she said she was required to provide 2 law enforcement officers "services free of charge" to evade arrest for prostitution.


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


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


- 'Roadblocks to help' -


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


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


"There's a lot of roadblocks 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 found aid was available.


An avid football player, she said her coach realised that "some bruises were not really associated to football".


It was only 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 scenario.


"It was in fact heartfelt for me to discover such a space," she said, choosing to provide just her first name.


GRIT's app aims to make it simpler for women 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 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 conserve lives," said one female at the exact same workshop participated in by Peaches.


The app is complimentary, 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 manage phone plans or bytes-the-dust.com 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 incorporated into certain social platforms, technical lead Lebogang Sindani said.


Zuzi was at first intended to supply only useful details, like how to obtain a defense order.


But its collection has actually been widened after feedback "that individuals 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 help 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 best storm" of an intricate history of colonisation and partition, belief in male supremacy, galgbtqhistoryproject.org a lack of great good example and economic 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 young boy to male."


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


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


"Society has normalised violence against ladies and ladies," UN Women GBV professional 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."