Zanele Sokatsha, centre, lead research study for the GRIT task

She states she was breached by cops. Now she’s brainstorming an AI-integrated app with a panic button that informs private security to assist other women caught in South Africa’s unfortunately high rates of abuse.

Peaches, as the 35-year-old sex asked to be recognized, is among the more than a third of South African ladies that will experience physical or sexual abuse in their life times, oke.zone according to UN figures.

Slender and outspoken, she remained in a group of around 15 ladies who collected late January to workshop the most recent update of the app developed by the not-for-profit GRIT (Gender Rights In Tech).

Equipped with an emergency situation button that deploys security officers, 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 button that deploys gatekeeper, an an AI-driven chatbot

“This app, it’s going to offer me that hope … that my human rights should be considered,” Peaches informed AFP, asking not to offer her real name to secure her safety.

There were more than 53,000 sexual offenses reported in South Africa in 2023-24, including more than 42,500 rapes, according to cops figures.

That exact same year, 5,578 women were killed, a 34 percent rise from the previous year.

In Peaches’ case, she said she was required to offer 2 cops officers “services free of charge” to avert arrest for prostitution.

“To me, GRIT isn’t simply a task-- it’s a need,” founder Leanora Tima told AFP.

“I wished to produce tech-driven solutions that empower survivors, ensuring they receive the urgent aid, legal assistance and psychological support they require without barriers,” Tima said.

- ‘Roadblocks to assist’ -

Many cases of gender-based violence (GBV) go unreported since victims face stigma 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 lot of roadblocks still in getting gain access to and aid,” she said.

Thato, a female 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 realised that “some contusions were not in fact related to football”.

It was just when the coach took the group to an anti-GBV event in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, that she discovered there were organisations that help females in her scenario.

“It was really heartfelt for me to discover such a space,” she said, choosing to offer only her very first name.

GRIT’s app aims to make it easier for women to gain access to resources from their homes, [smfsimple.com](https://www.smfsimple.com/ultimateportaldemo/index.php?action=profile