AI App Offers A Lifeline For S.Africa s Abused Women
Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research for the GRIT project
She states she was violated by cops. Now she's brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that alerts private security to help other ladies 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 women that will experience physical or sexual assault in their lifetimes, fishtanklive.wiki according to UN figures.
Slender and outspoken, she remained in a group of around 15 females who collected late January to workshop the most current upgrade of the app developed by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).
Equipped with an emergency situation button that deploys security officers, library.kemu.ac.ke an evidence 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 button that releases 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 informed AFP, asking not to provide her genuine name to protect 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 cops figures.
That exact same year, 5,578 females were murdered, clashofcryptos.trade a 34 percent rise from the previous year.
In Peaches' case, she said she was required to offer two authorities officers "services free of charge" to evade arrest for prostitution.
"To me, GRIT isn't just a project-- it's a necessity," creator Leanora Tima told AFP.
"I wanted to create tech-driven options that empower survivors, guaranteeing they get the immediate aid, legal assistance and emotional support they require without barriers," Tima said.
- 'Roadblocks to assist' -
Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported because victims face stigma or classifieds.ocala-news.com are turned away by authorities, said GRIT lead scientist Zanele Sokatsha.
'There's a lot 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.
A passionate football player, she said her coach understood that "some swellings were not in fact related to football".
It was just 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 situation.
"It was really heartwarming for me to find such a space," she said, preferring to offer just her first name.
GRIT's app aims to make it simpler 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 historydb.date a digital vault where they can submit proof like photos, videos and cops 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 gone to by Peaches.
The app is totally free, moneyed by GRIT's donors including the Gates Foundation and Expertise France. It currently has 12,000 users.
Once downloaded, it can work without data, making it available to those who can not afford phone plans or 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 integrated into certain social platforms, technical lead Lebogang Sindani said.
Zuzi was initially intended to supply only practical details, like how to obtain a defense order.
But its repertoire has been broadened after feedback "that people are more interested in speaking with Zuzi about ... intimate things" like their health, Sindani said.
- 'All they know' -
Even if there are more than ever to help ladies 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 an intricate history of colonisation and partition, belief in male supremacy, an absence of excellent good example and economic tensions, said Craig Wilkinson, founder of Father A Country.
"No boy is born an abuser," said Wilkinson, whose not-for-profit focuses on reaching males. "There's something failing in the journey from young boy to male."
"All they understand is violence," said Sandile Masiza, a planner of the GBV Response Team for Johannesburg's kid well-being authority.
"We require more programs that are not simply going to be solely concentrated on victim support, but perpetrator prevention," Masiza said.
"Society has normalised violence against ladies and women," UN Women GBV professional 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."