AI App Offers a Lifeline For S.Africa's Abused Women
Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT task
She states she was broken by police. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that alerts personal security to assist other women caught in South Africa's tragically high rates of abuse.
Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex worker asked to be determined, is among the more than a third of South African ladies that will experience physical or sexual assault in their life times, forum.batman.gainedge.org according to UN figures.
Slender and outspoken, she remained in a group of around 15 females who gathered late January to workshop the most recent update of the app established by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).
Equipped with an emergency situation button that deploys security officers, an evidence 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 button that releases security officers, dokuwiki.stream an an AI-driven chatbot
"This app, it's going to offer me that hope ... that my human rights ought to be considered," Peaches told 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, consisting of more than 42,500 rapes, according to cops figures.
That same year, 5,578 women were murdered, a 34 percent rise from the previous year.
In Peaches' case, she said she was required to provide 2 policemans "services free of charge" to avert arrest for prostitution.
"To me, GRIT isn't just a job-- it's a need," founder Leanora Tima told AFP.
"I wished to create tech-driven solutions that empower survivors, guaranteeing they receive the urgent aid, legal assistance and emotional assistance they need without barriers," Tima said.
- 'Roadblocks to assist' -
Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported due to the fact that victims face preconception or are turned away by authorities, said GRIT lead researcher Zanele Sokatsha.
'There's a great deal of obstructions still in getting gain access to and aid,' Sokatsha says
"There's a great deal 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.
An avid football gamer, she said her coach understood that "some swellings were not really associated to football".
It was only when the coach took the team 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 only her first name.
GRIT's app aims to make it easier for females to gain access to resources from their homes, where much of the abuse happens.
It has a map of close-by clinics and shelters and a digital vault where they can upload proof like images, bio.rogstecnologia.com.br videos and police reports that will be protected on GRIT's servers.
The functions are based upon user feedback gathered at workshops around the nation.
"It will conserve lives," said one lady at the exact same workshop attended by Peaches.
The app is totally free, moneyed by GRIT's donors consisting of the Gates Foundation and Expertise France. It currently has 12,000 users.
Once downloaded, opensourcebridge.science it can work without information, making it available to those who can not pay for phone strategies or archmageriseswiki.com remain in backwoods with restricted networks.
The chatbot Zuzi, to be released in the coming months, orcz.com will be available on the app and likewise integrated into certain social platforms, technical lead Lebogang said.
Zuzi was at first meant to provide 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 talking 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 complex history of colonisation and partition, belief in male supremacy, an absence of excellent function models and economic tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, creator of Father A Country.
"No kid is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose not-for-profit focuses on reaching men. "There's something failing in the journey from kid to guy."
"All they know is violence," said Sandile Masiza, a planner of the GBV Response Team for Johannesburg's child welfare authority.
"We require more programmes that are not just going to be entirely focused on victim support, but perpetrator prevention," Masiza said.
"Society has actually normalised violence against ladies and women," UN Women GBV expert Jennifer Acio informed AFP.
"That's why we keep sharing details and trying to empower women ... to know what is an abuse of their rights, to understand when to report."