Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT project
She says she was broken by authorities. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that signals private security to help other ladies captured in South Africa's unfortunately high rates of abuse.
Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex employee asked to be identified, orcz.com 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, oke.zone she remained in a group of around 15 ladies who collected late January to workshop the most recent update of the app established by the nonprofit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).
Equipped with an emergency button that deploys gatekeeper, funsilo.date 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 situation button that deploys gatekeeper, an an AI-driven chatbot
"This app, it's going to give me that hope ... that my human rights must be thought about," Peaches informed AFP, asking not to offer her real name to protect her security.
There were more than 53,000 sexual offences reported in South Africa in 2023-24, including 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 forced to offer two law enforcement officers "services free of charge" to evade arrest for prostitution.
"To me, GRIT isn't just a task-- 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 emotional assistance 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 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 discovered aid was available.
A devoted football player, ratemywifey.com she said her coach realised that "some contusions were not actually related to football".
It was only when the coach took the group to an anti-GBV occasion in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, that she found out there were organisations that help females in her situation.
"It was in fact heartwarming for me to find such a space," she said, choosing to provide just her given name.
GRIT's app aims to make it much easier for women to gain access to resources from their homes, where much of the abuse happens.
It has a map of nearby centers and shelters and systemcheck-wiki.de a digital vault where they can submit evidence like pictures, videos and police reports that will be protected on GRIT's servers.
The functions are based on user feedback gathered at workshops around the country.
"It will conserve lives," said one lady at the exact same workshop gone to by Peaches.
The app is totally free, moneyed by GRIT's donors consisting of 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 afford phone strategies or remain in backwoods with limited 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 planned to offer only practical details, like how to obtain a security order.
But its collection has actually been widened 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 help ladies 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 perfect storm" of an of colonisation and segregation, belief in male supremacy, orcz.com a lack of great good example and financial tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Nation.
"No kid is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose nonprofit concentrates on reaching men. "There's something failing in the journey from young boy to man."
"All they understand is violence," said Sandile Masiza, a planner of the GBV Response Team for Johannesburg's child welfare authority.
"We need more programmes that are not just going to be solely focused on victim support, however criminal avoidance," Masiza said.
"Society has normalised violence against ladies and women," UN Women GBV specialist Jennifer Acio informed AFP.
"That's why we keep sharing details and trying to empower ladies ... to understand what is an abuse of their rights, to understand when to report."
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AI App Offers a Lifeline For S.Africa's Abused Women
Abe Pulver edited this page 2025-02-11 17:44:20 +01:00