Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT project
She states she was violated by authorities. 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 amongst the more than a third of South African ladies that will experience physical or sexual assault in their life times, according to UN figures.
Slender and outspoken, she remained in a group of around 15 females who gathered late January to workshop the newest 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 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 deploys gatekeeper, an an AI-driven chatbot
"This app, it's going to give me that hope ... that my human rights need to be considered," Peaches told AFP, asking not to offer her real name to protect her security.
There were more than 53,000 sexual offenses reported in South Africa in 2023-24, including more than 42,500 rapes, according to authorities figures.
That very same year, 5,578 ladies were murdered, a 34 percent increase from the previous year.
In Peaches' case, she said she was required to provide two law enforcement officers "services totally free" to avert arrest for prostitution.
"To me, GRIT isn't simply a job-- it's a necessity," founder Leanora Tima informed AFP.
"I wanted to develop tech-driven services that empower survivors, ensuring they receive the immediate aid, legal assistance and psychological support they need without barriers," Tima said.
- 'Roadblocks to assist' -
Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported because victims deal with stigma or 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 lady in her 30s, said she sustained years of physical abuse by her stepfather before she discovered aid was available.
A passionate football gamer, she said her coach understood that "some bruises were not actually associated to football".
It was only when the coach took the team to an anti-GBV occasion in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, that she learned there were organisations that help women in her situation.
"It was actually heartfelt for me to find such a space," she said, preferring to offer just her given name.
GRIT's app aims to make it easier for ladies to gain access to resources from their homes, where much of the abuse happens.
It has a map of nearby centers and shelters and a digital vault where they can upload evidence like pictures, videos and police 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 lady at the very same workshop gone to by Peaches.
The app is complimentary, it-viking.ch funded by GRIT's donors consisting of 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 strategies or remain in rural areas with minimal networks.
The chatbot Zuzi, to be released in the coming months, will be available on the app and likewise into certain social platforms, technical lead Lebogang Sindani said.
Zuzi was at first planned to offer only practical details, like how to obtain a defense order.
But its repertoire has actually been expanded after feedback "that people are more thinking about 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 attacked 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 a complex history of colonisation and partition, belief in male dominance, an absence of great good example and economic stresses, said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Nation.
"No kid is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose nonprofit focuses 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 just going to be solely focused on victim support, however perpetrator prevention," Masiza said.
"Society has actually normalised violence against females and girls," UN Women GBV specialist Jennifer Acio informed AFP.
"That's why we keep sharing details and trying to empower females ... to understand 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
johannaeatock edited this page 2025-02-28 01:47:08 +01:00