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Anti-Rape Condom soon

A South African doctor has created a female condom that puts teeth in the fight against rape.

Literally.

The anti-rape condom, called "Rape-aXe," features rows of jagged hooks designed to attach to a man's penis during penetration. Once attached, the condom can only be removed by a doctor - hopefully when authorities can arrest him, Dr. Sonnet Ehlers, the condom's designer, told CNN.

"It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it's on," she said. "If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter... however, it doesn't break the skin, and there's no danger of fluid exposure."

Critics say the condom makes women vulnerable to violence from men trapped by the device.

It's also a form of "enslavement," Victoria Kajja, a fellow for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the east African country of Uganda, told CNN. "The fears surrounding the victim, the act of wearing the condom in anticipation of being assaulted all represent enslavement that no woman should be subjected to."

Kajja added that the device reminds women of their vulnerability.

"It not only presents the victim with a false sense of security, but psychological trauma," she added. "It also does not help with the psychological problems that manifest after assaults."

But she acknowledged that the device might allow justice to be served.

Rape convictions are rare in most African countries, according to CNN. Victims don't get immediate access to medical care, and DNA tests to provide evidence are too expensive.

Women take drastic measures to prevent rape in South Africa, Ehlers said. Some go so far as to insert razor blades wrapped in sponges in their private parts.

Tags: Rape-aXe, anti-rape condom

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on December 18, 2012 at 4:45pm

"It's also a form of enslavement"?!? More like a form of empowerment, I would say. It says that women can be PRO-ACTIVE (gee, what a concept!) in terms of their own self-defense. Add a knee to the groin and maybe the woman can escape her attacker.

And there's a real thought: classes in rape-avoidance and self-defense for these women, which would include the idea of using these condoms, but not be limited to that, as a part of an overall, comprehensive strategy. Teaching women self-confidence and self-reliance as well as giving them the tools to be able to deal with such situations can go a long way toward raising their status in societies where they are relegated to second-class citizenship.

Permalink Reply by TNT666 on December 18, 2012 at 5:43pm

There's a new trend lately, campaigns talking to guys, to prevent guys from raping, instead of campaigns aimed at women to protect themselves.

I'm tortured about this. On the one hand, I am a two-way street type of person, it's my opinion that ALL that happens in life is a two-way street, so that just before a rape is going to happen, the potential victim has just as much responsability as the perpetrator, but that once the violence is started, then it's all on the perp. This is because I have a "buck stops here" philosophy, it's my body, and I am responsible for it.

On the other hand, we've been training women in self defence for 50 years and have not made a dent, NOT A DENT, in the violence against women statistics. This infuriates me to no end, because though the males are perpetrating a vast majority of this violence, we women have not found the means to fix this situation, so now we're asking the guys to fix it. I find this depressing.

So will this condom work? I can just imagine the number of cases of entrapment will happen. Because the simple fact is that the reason self-defence philosophy has not worked to prevent violence against women is this:

VIOLENCE AGAISNT WOMEN DOES NOT COME FROM STRANGERS

So for this condom to reach it's perps... it means that the time for women to wear it is during sex with loved ones, spouses, BFs, or when sleeping under the same roof as friends and uncles and grandparents. You see how this will lead us nowhere.

For a half of century, we've been teaching females the wrong skills, survival against strangers.

We need to teach females how to say no to the men in their lives, that is a totally different skill set. It means fighting patriarchal attitudes at home, and this, a majority of women are not ready to do, because a majority of women have bought into the koolaid of patriarchal religions.

I've never successfully been raped, I've been attempted on 1, by a boyfriend and that was the end of that. I also pulled a knife out once while hitchiking, because the guy started to masturbate while driving. Let me add to that that I have put myself in hundreds of potentially dangerous situations, I hitchike regularly, at all hours, I travel solo to countries, al all hours of the day, walked/cycled on streets that other folks cowed from.

I've had guys leer at me, call me slut, feel me up, I've seen it all, but in the end, I view my body as my responsibility, and I have zero tolerance. That means if any male puts my integrity at risk, his life is at risk, and that is clear in how I vocalise and behave in any situation.

I believe in responsibility, and I don't think this is going to reduce the rate of rapes.

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on December 20, 2012 at 11:54am

I agree with TNT666 - violence against women usually comes from people they know well. Yes, there are the cases of strangers breaking into houses to rape women - but the other is much more common.

And, like she said - I don't think that will reduce the occurance of rapes.

Well said TNT.

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