A South African inventor unveiled a new anti-rape female condom on Wednesday that hooks onto an attacker's penis and aims to cut one of the highest rates of sexual assault in the world.Who hasn't vaguely envisioned this invention?
"Nothing has ever been done to help a woman so that she does not get raped and I thought it was high time," Sonette Ehlers, 57, said of the "rapex," a device worn like a tampon that has sparked controversy in a country used to daily reports of violent crime....
The device, made of latex and held firm by shafts of sharp barbs, can only be removed from the man by surgery, which will alert hospital staff, and ultimately, the police, she said.
I think just knowing some women are wearing these things ought to be enough to deter rapists, a bit like the way some folk's having guns in the house lowers the rate of burglary and benefits all of us.
UPDATE: Complete your ensemble with the "No Contact Jacket."
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Okay, how many other people instantly thought of the book "Snow Crash" upon reading this?
Isn't this a bit like the old chastity belts?
Chastity belts didn't clamp onto the penis and require surgical removal.
Freeman: That title comes up in the Metafilter comments.
Definitely "Snow Crash". Does the inventor have to share any royalties or license fess with Stephenson?
I almost started crying when I read that.
Good idea though.
It sounds like a cross between Lo-Jack and that monster/asteroid the Millennium Falcon flies out in the Empire Strikes Back -- excuse me: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
I hope it works though. Even the fear or urban legends surrounding the device could deter.
Lindsey: Yes, it's strange to think of feeling so endangered you'd put one of these things in. I'd rather carry a weapon and just kill an attacker before he gets as far as he'd have to get into a rape for the rapex to do anything to stop the attack.
And, to be practical, couldn't the attacker feel for the thing and yank it out? Or use a different orifice?
Geeze. Those are some tenacious carjackers. I think I would have begged off after people installed the flamethrowers.
Lindsey, Ann, it's worth noting that in South Africa, in most of sub-Saharan Africa, the combination of violence and the HIV infection rate means rape has a high priority of being a death sentence.
My daughter leaves for Africa tomorrow, and I am following the primary parental rule: shut up.
Diane: The one thing about the Rapex is that it would work for a woman who has difficulty actively attacking. There are in fact many self-defensive things a woman could do with her bare hands, but you have to have the presence of mind and the nerve to do them. This thing is a last resort for a passive or terrified person. It also works to catch the man, because he must go to a surgeon to have it removed.
fyi, the dentata passage from Snow Crash
Sebastian said... I also can't imagine how such a device could be made not to be a hazard to the wearer, or a forgetful wife's poor husband.
A good point. Yet as a positive side effect, more husbands might suddenly become more considerate in their lovemaking strategies, taking their time and engaging in conversation and foreplay before jumping right into coitus. I've heard that women dig that sort of thing and who knows - the very change in the guy's approach might jog her memory that there is a little something she needs to remove before completely surrendering to their mutual desires.
I teach personal protection classes, and have several times taught woman-only classes. About a third of the women in those classes had been victims of rape. You never touch them (as for instance, to adjust a stance or demonstrate trigger control) without asking permission first. And they are the most focussed students you will ever encounter. I take a certain amount of crap about this from liberals. My response is, "Why should they have to go through it twice? What's wrong with a violent man dying to keep them from being raped again?"
On the other hand, who would want a rapist stuck to them? It would be like having an instant, huge wart grow on you. He would be thrashing and hollering and hitting and would probably have body odor and bad breath and what if the ambulance had a flat tire waiting to take the both of you to the ER for surgery? This inventor needs to include in the kit a large scissors with a stout string attached to hang around the neck, thus the victim could free herself of the unwanted appendage.
When this thing hits America I guarantee it will be used for revenge on ex-boyfriends and ex-husbands. What will the law do to a woman who lures a man into having consensual sex with her only to sexually mutilate him with this? Will she be charged? I guarantee not. She'll just change her story after the fact and claim rape, having her victim charged, like John Bobbitt. Whatever is going on in South Africa, I know how this torture device will be used in the States. It won't be used on rapists. It will be used on men who trust a hateful woman they once loved. Wait and see.
It will be interesting to see if and how the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the USA approves this device. The standard is that it has to be "safe and effective." One can only imagine the difficulty of doing clinical trials involving it!
Has anyone ever thought that woman might use this for the wrong reasons? Say they mass produce this device, then anyone can buy it. What if a woman seeking revenge on a certain guy uses the Rapex to satisfy her anger? She could possibly ruin a man's life. How do we know anyone will use it properly?
Well, this device will definitely cause pain for the rapist. It won't be like a swift kick in the groin where the pain eventually subsides. This pain will be intense and continual under a doctor puts him under to remove it.
But yeah, I also agree a woman could use it to get back at an ex or whoever. Next thing ya know, there's gonna be more female rapists (and they do exist and they can rape men if you do your research).
This is just a bad idea. Maybe it's cool in Africa but if this hits the US then it will be bad. These better not ever make it on to American shelves. Too many people WILL abuse these, I know that it could help some Americans but it will do more harm than good. Too many men will be victimized with this and don't think for one second an entire gender has it coming.
I disagree with this idea. I have no objection to women defending themselves against Rape, even being a Man myself i still think its a disgusting thing to do, but the problem here is that its like keeping a knife on you for personal safety;
If someone attacks you for your purse then they will most likely punch or beat you for it. Leave you injured but usually not dying.
But, if someone tries to attack you and you pull a knife out for defence, they feel threatened and will get more violent, likely turning the knife of their knife on you.
Same principle with the RapeX. If a rapist goes to rape you then usually he will and then he will leave. Im aware that rape can sometimes result to murder, and that obviously rapists are not gentle, but there are two majorly bad outcomes to think about.
First; the Rapist goes in, it snags him, but the adrenaline and rage created is enough for him to overpower the pain, or for example, he has pinned you down and weighs too much for him to escape whilst stunned.
Then, you are in serious trouble. You do not want to be in a mans way after just having harmed his Manlihood.
The second, and very likely outcome, as someone mentioned earlier about carjackers, is that criminals will find a way.
Make it idiot proof, and someone will invent a better Idiot.
Rapists in Africa, if this product is used widely, will learn this.
And may go in, maybe first with their fingers, to check. At this point, if they do find you to be wearing one, you once more have a very angry and violent rapist, who remains unharmed and ready to kill you.
Overall, its a good concept, but in reality it just wont work. when stopping rape you cannot harm the rapist, but more of block the passage.
A chastity belt or a pair of steel locked underwear would be a much better idea to be honest.
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