Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT job
She says she was violated by cops. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that informs personal 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 recognized, is among the more than a third of South African ladies 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 ladies who gathered 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 deploys gatekeeper, a proof vault and a resource centre, the app will also 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 deploys security officers, an an AI-driven chatbot
"This app, it's going to give me that hope ... that my human rights ought to be thought about," Peaches told AFP, asking not to offer her genuine name to secure her safety.
There were more than 53,000 sexual offenses reported in South Africa in 2023-24, consisting of more than 42,500 rapes, according to authorities figures.
That very same year, 5,578 women were murdered, a 34 percent rise from the previous year.
In Peaches' case, fakenews.win she said she was required to offer 2 police officers "services free of charge" to evade arrest for prostitution.
"To me, GRIT isn't simply a task-- it's a necessity," founder Leanora Tima told AFP.
"I wished to produce tech-driven options that empower survivors, ensuring they get the immediate aid, legal guidance and emotional assistance they require without barriers," Tima said.
- 'Roadblocks to assist' -
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 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 woman in her 30s, said she sustained years of physical abuse by her stepfather before she found aid was available.
A devoted football player, she said her coach realised that "some swellings were not really associated to football".
It was just when the coach took the group to an anti-GBV occasion in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, that she discovered there were organisations that help females in her scenario.
"It was really heartwarming for me to discover such a space," she said, choosing to provide just her given 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 close-by centers and shelters and a digital vault where they can upload proof like images, videos and cops reports that will be protected on GRIT's servers.
The features are based on user feedback collected at workshops around the country.
"It will save lives," said one female at the very same workshop gone to by Peaches.
The app is totally free, moneyed by GRIT's donors including the Gates Foundation and Expertise France. It already has 12,000 users.
Once downloaded, setiathome.berkeley.edu it can work without information, making it available to those who can not pay for phone strategies or remain in backwoods with restricted networks.
The chatbot Zuzi, to be in the coming months, will be available on the app and likewise integrated into certain social platforms, technical lead Lebogang Sindani said.
Zuzi was initially planned to offer only useful details, like how to obtain a security order.
But its collection has actually been expanded after feedback "that people are more interested in talking with Zuzi about ... intimate things" like their health, Sindani said.
- 'All they know' -
Even if there are more services than ever to help 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 "an ideal storm" of a complex history of colonisation and partition, belief in male dominance, a lack of great good example and financial tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Nation.
"No young boy is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose nonprofit concentrates on reaching men. "There's something failing in the journey from boy to male."
"All they know is violence," said Sandile Masiza, an organizer of the GBV Response Team for Johannesburg's kid welfare authority.
"We require more programs that are not simply going to be exclusively concentrated on victim assistance, however criminal prevention," Masiza said.
"Society has actually normalised violence against ladies and ladies," UN Women GBV expert Jennifer Acio informed AFP.
"That's why we keep sharing details and attempting to empower ladies ... to know what is an abuse of their rights, to know when to report."
1
AI App Offers a Lifeline For S.Africa's Abused Women
luca3220843431 edited this page 2025-02-12 08:37:09 +01:00