KLEINMOND, South Africa (Reuters) - 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.
"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.
Police statistics show more than 50,000 rapes are reported every year, while experts say the real figure could be four times that because they say most rapes of acquaintances or children are never reported.
Ehlers said the "rapex" hooks onto the rapist's skin, allowing the victim time to escape and helping to identify perpetrators.
"He will obviously be too pre-occupied at this stage," she told reporters in Kleinmond, a small holiday village about 100km (60 miles) east of Cape Town. "I promise you he is going to be too sore. He will go straight to hospital."
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.
It also reduces the chances of pregnancy or HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases from the attacker by acting in the same way as a female condom.
South Africa has more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country, with one in nine of its 45 million population infected.
Ehlers, who showed off a prototype on Wednesday, said women had tried it for comfort and it had been tested on a plastic male model but not yet on a live man. Production is planned to start next year.
But the "rapex" has raised fears amongst anti-rape activists that it could escalate violence against women.
"If a victim is wearing such a device it may enrage the attacker further and possibly result in more harm being caused," said Sam Waterhouse, advocacy coordinator for Rape Crisis.
Other critics say the condom is medieval and barbaric -- an accusation Ehlers says should be directed rather at the act of rape.
"This is not about vengeance...but the deed, that is what I hate," she said.
This model is also offered in South Africa too:
No shit.
That's also what I was thinking. Does she have to wear it all the time? When she goes out? When her dad's best friend, who raped her before, is coming by again?
Or at least reduce it dramatically.
What does she mean - yet?
No shit, indeed -- but I do foresee the distinct possibility of abuse of such a device.
Just let 'em have the guns.
Let's get them to as many women in South africa, and many other places, as possible.
There is also a spring-loaded ankle-crusher available to foil car jackers in SA. You hit the trigger, it shatters their ankles, and you drive off as they lay in the road, screaming in pain.
Hi there. I had a little boy in February, so now I am WriterMom of 3. And, if you have 3 kids, ya might as well have 300. It's so busy, I have so little time to play on line. But fortunately, I am going back to work soon, so I can have a life again.
Writermom, congrats on your new son!! Tis true about the third one, turns your life upside down and like you said, if you can do 3, you can handle anything!!!
Congratulations :)
Congratulations.
I am the third of three, and have always prided myself in being the worst of them all. Okay, that's not very encouraging ...
On the bright side, I never needed braces and I had no inconvenient food allergies.
Our youngest son had both!!
That's a key point about rape...Can't remember who said this, but I think it was a New York City DA. She noted that people call rape a sex crime, but it's actually a violent crime where the criminal uses sex as his weapon. I think that's an important distinction.
Actually, two 240 grain .45 caliber 850 fps taps to the forehead does a better job.
/ damn...I love Colt govt Model 1911's....but will try to refer to them less....:-)
However, the threat of having his hot dog filleted, on the other hand, might do a great deal to make him re-think his misogynistic sexual tendencies.
I'd like to donate money to any groups trying to distribute these to women.
If a potential rapist thinks she's using one of these, might he not then just... how to put this delicately?...
(Nope, I can't really put it delicately, so I'll Invis-O-Text™ instead)
[Invis-O-Text™: ON]...use a different orifice?[Invis-O-Text™: OFF]
I appreciate the idea of this being on the market, I am just not sure how much good it will do to advertise it and let the rapist know it is out there.
Surprise isn't always a bad thing. If he knows the dog may bite, wouldn't it seem reasonable first to place something else there to see if it grips a hold and remove it. Not to give any one any ideas but if I can think of this why can't the idiot rapist.
Just a thought.
Wheres the anti rape condom for men? Something like a condom with a pop out switch blade in it...Lets not be one sided here.Whats good for the goose,is also good for the gander.Equal rites now...
But this is a good idea ~ for a while ~ anything to stop rape until the serial rapist get wind of this, and adjust.
Has anyone ever thought that, at best, rapists would simply change their method and "check" for the rapex device before insertion?
The best preventative for rape is general public knowledge that a large percentage of the female population is armed and trained, along with a statement by local authorities that prosecution of women "defending their virtue" will not be prosecuted.
I do foresee a distinct possibility of abuse.
Do you mean that self-defense won't be prosecuted? It isn't unless it's taken beyond that point (and if you can prove it of course), and yeah of course it is abused.
This isn't that easy to solve. Rape isn't. Don't think you know the answer right away here because different people act differently to the same situations. Why would a high percentage of armed females prevent rape? Do more weapons prevent the use of other weapons? Do rapists really care about any of this? Instead of preventing the problem, weapons and products like this rapex are really only mousetraps to catch a few mice that aren't smart enough to adapt, and humans are just great at adapting.
And that is why you will never stop it...
Let's try this again team. And think with your brains, not with your hearts. Your emotions about this subject have clearly clouded your evaluation of this product.
First, Rapex will be the world wide leader in turning rapes into murders. While it is true that this condom would cause a significant amount of pain to an attacker it will not immobilize him. A kick to the groin is much different than non lethal spikes to the shaft. They have never tested this on an attacker and I believe that this is for many reasons. The first being that you can never, under any sane tactics, recreate a situation for rape to occur. Secondly, a test like this is too unlikely to get either female or more particularly male, applicants to apply for. And lastly, I believe that there is fear amongst the producers of such a product to actually run a physical test of the effects that this has to a live male. They claim, “When a rapist attacks, he looses control of his senses.” yet they contest that the attacker would suddenly be more concerned with his pain than with killing this poor girl? Simply put, if in a test of the Rapex condom a man was able to fight through the pain and “kill” a victim… well… then they wouldn’t have much of an advertising stand point for this product now would they?
Secondly, any idiot who has a TV or shops at Wal-mart would catch full wind of this matter. It’s not too hard for a rapist to pick up a pack of condoms and a Rapex remover. They’re located in the same section for God’s sake. Rapists, just like everyone else, will know that these things exist. They will either stick their finger in first or a Rapex remover. Not too tough team, not too tough. What will a girl do then. Take a beating after she irks some rapist by trying to trap him in a Rapex. I’m sure a rapist would be kind enough to forgive her for “forgetting” that is was in. Either that or send her to the hospital. Good call.
But let’s shift our focus to those who wouldn’t know about a Rapex condom. Primarily, NON RAPISTS!!! Just average regular guys who live their life by the letter of the law. Some studies show that up to 50% of rapes reported to police did not actually occur. They were called in because a woman either was confused about what happened, regretted her decision afterwards, or worst of all… she just wanted to enact some good old fashion revenge. Happens all the time guys. Much more often then you would probably think. Now, we comes along Rapex and their ironclad guarantee.
“For the first time there is now incriminating evidence, it will no longer be your word against his!”
Great. So now some jealous girl, who found out a guy was cheating on her, decides to put the guy up on IRREFUTABLE rape charges. Awesome…. They claim that “…there will be legal consequences. “ for such actions. But it counters their first claim of incriminating evidence. Think for one second, not only does a man get sexually abused in such a situation (a fact that no one apparently gives a damn about) he also gets sent away for 20 years in prison. No questions asked. If you could think of a good defense an innocent man could produce against such a claim then I would really like to hear it because from where I stand, the man hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell against a woman scorn. And of course this doesn’t even scratch the surface of all of those innocent men that just happen to get stuck in this thing when their partners forget. It’ll happen all the time and if offends me just as much as a sexual assault.
Accidents WILL happen, mark my words. Innocent men will be violated by this device, there is no doubt about it. But people go on with their lives ignoring the signs. No one cares about a man getting hurt anymore. It’s a non issue in this debate because closed minded people refuse to see this misuse of this product.
There is only one way to stop rape and that is to understand it. You must understand why men are driven to rape and nullify the problem at its source. Education to both men and women and the ability to gain a mutual respect for one another is the only solution. The Rapex condom will produce casualties on both sides. Men who are framed and women who are killed.
Do them a favor and educate others on the pitfalls of this flawed system of rape prevention. Together we can find a better way.
no, rapex is not fullproof, but nothing is when it comes to situations like these.
and another thing, if a rapist decides to buy a rapex kit...people in the store are going to find it suspicious that a GUY IS BUYING RAPEX... what does he need it for? maybe his wife or whatever, but ....what are the chances a wife will do that to her husband... ????
it's good that they don't have guns...that would just be stupid. in a very violent place like africa, they don't need more weapons... weapons do nothing but bring about more madness. RAPEX is not a weapon, it is a defence, it is a confidence, it is safety and security.
as for advertising rapex. women should tell other women. people should try to avoid letting men hear about it, but some men will find out and there's no stopping that.
another thing... women wear it when they feel in danger.. it could be when a girl knows her mother's boyfriend is coming for dinner again, it could be when she is going to a movie or a club or whatever. obviously women won't let it remain inside them until the point of infection. it should be written on the box that they should periodically remove it and clean themselves. or whatever the required task is.
if rapex saves one woman, it's done it's job.
and remember devices don't kill people...people with devices kill people. so if a man is enraged at a women and decides to kill her. it's not rapex, it's the guy with the issues.
i think rapex is a great product to protect women and keep rapists off the street.
no, rapex is not fullproof, but nothing is when it comes to situations like these.
and another thing, if a rapist decides to buy a rapex kit...people in the store are going to find it suspicious that a GUY IS BUYING RAPEX... what does he need it for? maybe his wife or whatever, but ....what are the chances a wife will do that to her husband... ????
it's good that they don't have guns...that would just be stupid. in a very violent place like africa, they don't need more weapons... weapons do nothing but bring about more madness. RAPEX is not a weapon, it is a defence, it is a confidence, it is safety and security.
as for advertising rapex. women should tell other women. people should try to avoid letting men hear about it, but some men will find out and there's no stopping that.
another thing... women wear it when they feel in danger.. it could be when a girl knows her mother's boyfriend is coming for dinner again, it could be when she is going to a movie or a club or whatever. obviously women won't let it remain inside them until the point of infection. it should be written on the box that they should periodically remove it and clean themselves. or whatever the required task is.
if rapex saves one woman, it's done it's job.
and remember devices don't kill people...people with devices kill people. so if a man is enraged at a women and decides to kill her. it's not rapex, it's the guy with the issues.
i think rapex is a great product to protect women and keep rapists off the street.
send the answer to my email
amirasyrafn@yahoo.co.uk
no, rapex is not fullproof, but nothing is when it comes to situations like these.
and another thing, if a rapist decides to buy a rapex kit...people in the store are going to find it suspicious that a GUY IS BUYING RAPEX... what does he need it for? maybe his wife or whatever, but ....what are the chances a wife will do that to her husband... ????
it's good that they don't have guns...that would just be stupid. in a very violent place like africa, they don't need more weapons... weapons do nothing but bring about more madness. RAPEX is not a weapon, it is a defence, it is a confidence, it is safety and security.
as for advertising rapex. women should tell other women. people should try to avoid letting men hear about it, but some men will find out and there's no stopping that.
another thing... women wear it when they feel in danger.. it could be when a girl knows her mother's boyfriend is coming for dinner again, it could be when she is going to a movie or a club or whatever. obviously women won't let it remain inside them until the point of infection. it should be written on the box that they should periodically remove it and clean themselves. or whatever the required task is.
if rapex saves one woman, it's done it's job.
and remember devices don't kill people...people with devices kill people. so if a man is enraged at a women and decides to kill her. it's not rapex, it's the guy with the issues.
i think rapex is a great product to protect women and keep rapists off the street.
What if that guy really is buying the Rapex condom for his wife or girlfriend? If they deny him the right to buy a certain product, he will sue. Then, companies will be afraid to reject selling the product to men. This product isn't going to help anything. Only thing good I see from this is guys will be more weary of the girls they date. But also rapists will be weary of the anti-rape condom. This product tried but failed.
ANYTHING CAN BE USED AS A WEAPON, even the Rapex condom.
And also look at texas and its guns, seems alot more peacful then any other place.
What is needed is a less corrupt government in South Africa. They do jack shit when rape is reported.
Only as selfish as it is just to think about the WOMEN. That's what lawyers are for, true--but a lawyer isn't going to do any good at all when a man has spikes in his penis. They say that Rapex won't permanently damage the man if he gets professional help without delay. What if he can't? This is something which can cause permanent physical damage.
More than some men will find out. The product has already been advertised. And if knowledge of the device were only spread among women, that would put innocent men with vengeful wives or girlfriends in even more danger. And with the current advertising, a rapist will be likely to check his victim's vagina before penetration, whereas it would be very unlikely for an innocent man to do so.
And if one woman is killed because the rapist is enraged? Has it defeated its purpose? And sure, it's the guy with the issues--but the issues would be triggered by the Rapex. A man who might not normally kill his victims may just be angered enough by the device stuck to his penis. I've accidentally zipped mine up in my trousers zipper before and, severely painful though it is (and I'd imagine Rapex produce a similar, though worse, effect), it's not nearly as debilitating as a kick to the testicles.
Oh, Freud, eat your heart out.
This will not stop rape, or reduce it at all.
It will only increase violence.
Rapist's will merely start sticking they're fingers in women to check for these devices, and pull them out, before raping the victim. These can be easily pulled out with you're fingers, Due to they're only being spikes on 4 sides of the condom. And a nice rim to grab onto also.
It will just further anger the rapist, with a chance of causing a much bigger problem then rape. Which is brutality or murder.
Rapists already often brutalize and murder their victims, as well as raping them. Rapists are already angry, warped creeps, which is why they need to be dealt with harshly. And law enforcement shouldn't give a tinker's damn about "angering them further." They should be soley concerned with stopping them, not tending their delicate feelings.
Frankly, I'm in favor of women with no criminal records being issued guns in areas where rape is prevalent, and being taught how to use them. If she shoots a rapist, well, he's dead, and nobody has to worry about his poor, injured feelings anymore. And he's not likely to cause any more problems, bigger, smaller or otherwise. Works for me.
Let women in high danger areas defend themselves, let the cops haul these creeps off to jail, use rule of law and dump nonsense like "rapex" in the trash----or issue it to the rapists themselves, so maybe they can use it to keep from being jumped in prison.
Just figured I would put up those points.
Especially not drive any Toyotas, yes.
Yeah, because rapists totally care about personal lubrication.
If you think that's bad ...
BTW - Usually a rapist would just insert his penis not even caring about lubrication. And as for him getting violent, he already is. It is a Violent Crime, not an crime of passion. If the rapist tries to beat the woman after this, then probably he was going to be abusive anyway. As for STDs, it's made with latex and plastic. The rapist would not plan on using a condom to protect his victims anyway. Hey, if it is a wake up call for rapist, then so be it. As for them checking, he can also check if you have a gun too. You have a better chance at getting killed with your own gun then this device.
That's my two cents....
If you think that's bad ...
Lewis KILLS me!
As for rapists buying rapex kits, you're totally right! It would look VERY suspicious if a man attempted to purchase a rapex kit. Who in their right mind would sell a rapex kit to a man anyway, when they are designed specifically for the opposite gender? For good reason, men should be refused of purchasing these items, and if a man claims he's buying the kit for his wife or girlfriend, that excuse should not suffice. Only women should be able to purchase these kits for themselves.
As for how the rapists may react to the bear trap, it's like you said.. the rapist itself is held accountable for how he reacts to it; the device's defense mechanism is not to blame. Any rapist capable of murdering his victims, will most likely kill his victim after raping her anyway; regardless of whether she's armed or not. I could see this anti-rape condom being especially effective in fending off a selfish boyfriend with the chauvinistic attitude of thinking he can do whatever he wants. Not to generalize, but it's more likely that a serial rapist will murder a victim for springing the trap on him, as opposed to let's say a horny, impulsive boyfriend that can't quite seem to grasp the meaning of "no" at the time. In that sense, I do believe that this device would be more useful in thwarting cases of date rape, instead of let's say, a random encounter with a potentially armed rapist on the streets. In cases of date rape, the typical attacker can be known to lose sight of mind and act upon selfish instinct. A serial rapist on the other hand, does not attack for sexual gratification, but rather for the sake of using sex as a weapon and the twisted satisfaction he may get out of making people suffer at his hand. In that sense, I would think this device more useful in fending off an out of control boyfriend as opposed to a serial rapist most likely capable of much worse. That is not to say that all rapist boyfriends aren't as violent as your typical serial rapist would be; some could be just as capable of murdering a victim, as a serial rapist preying upon random women. However, I would think that a girl would have a better chance of using the anti-rape condom to fend off a momentarily horny and out of control boyfriend without suffering a fatal beating in the process, then if she were to use it against a sadistic rapist that thrives on causing pain and suffering and knows well in advance how a rape victim might act. What I'm basically saying, is that even if rapists all belong on the same level, (lower then pond scum) not all of them are capable of murder - many are just selfish, insufferable creeps that need a good kick in the pants to thwart them. That aside though, even if my attacker WAS in fact dangerous, I think I would sooner take the risk of trying to fend him off with this thing and chance the possibility of facing a brutal death, as opposed to doing absolutely nothing at all and still quite possibly ending up a murder victim after being barbarically raped.
As for the rapist, I have ZERO sympathy for any male fallen victim to the bear trap, by forcing himself on a defenseless woman. This device may not be 100% effective in fending off ALL sexual offenders, but there are bound to be some that will fall for the trap. It's like you said, if one woman is spared, then the anti-rape condom has done it's job.
As far as the retaliation goes, twenty something barbs tearing into the penis is still too good for "men" like these if you ask me.
And the crime itself isn't sickening? I can see where you are coming from, but disproving of this product just because of the fact that it can be used as a weapon against a man, is like saying it's better that things remain the way they are as opposed to taking the chance of an innocent male falling victim to the bear trap. What about us women? This device has promise and could be helpful to some, and yet it should be banned because women can use it against men? Just look at how long men have been using sex to hurt and violate women! What male in his right mind would sleep with someone that has an ulterior motive against him anyway? For instance, a male should know better then to be seduced by a scornful ex girlfriend.
Thank you uninformed. It is currently the favorite method of "curing" AIDS in South Africa. The rumor is, sex with a virgin will cure you. To make sure she's a virgin, choose one as young as possible, and yes baby girls fall victim to this too. You insensitive ass.
Surprise, surprise.
To all the arguments against this product:
1. No where on this planet are people as informed and in touch with unbiased media as in the United States. Rapists are not reading blogs online and getting newspapers, they are in poor areas and most are gang members. Lets say rapists do find out about this condom by word of mouth, firstly it sounds like an urban myth (it HOOKS onto you, man!) and secondly it will have already saved women. Rapists are not normal functioning citizens like us and most likely are not going to PREPARE for their rape by going to the store and buying the remover for this product. Again, rapists are uneducated for the most part.
2. ANY DEVICE that could potentially protect a woman from something like rape is a miracle. the woman is going to feel empowered by this and hopefully wont feel as vulnerable, therefor wont BE as vulnerable. educated women can change this entire situation.
fuckers. have a little faith.
You say this like the world will suffer a loss.
You say this like the world will suffer a loss.
SRSLY.
You say this like the world will suffer a loss.
1) most Rapes happen in the rural parts of town, this better be sold or given out with running shoes.
2) would the attacker be even more enraged with the woman? Is it possible he would kill her now, instead of just raping her?
3) is the rapist going to hunt her down later, when his penis is bandaged?
I would have an issue with what the rapist MAY DO (as opposed to the rape that he was planning) as a result of what this thing does. Could they also include a female condom, in case the rapist does bleed, that way the woman has a poly/condom layer to protect her.
Lastly, Is rape ONLY vaginal? What would the woman do in a "GANG RAPE" situation? She disables ONE guy, now the so called crew beats her to inches of her life and rapes her repeatedly in the anus and vagina after the removal of the said device!
Good idea, bad follow thru, needs more and better implementation and design. Maybe more education, self defense courses, less human trafficing, less human slavery, better UN involvement, harsher penalties for Rape (Death?)and a better justice system?
On the otherhand, women are at a disadvantage in a rape. This gives them the advantage. If a woman is deathly affraid of rape, enough to regularly insert a rapex tampon, then this tampon will give her a chance to grab her mace or what have you, and further attack her assailent after he has inserted himself. Then runs and calls the police.
This device is a step in the right direction for places like Africa, but not the US. People in our country would use this for harm, that's just how some people are. Women who fear rape, either through experience or personal views, should have an alternative. Something that will totaly detere an assailent from raping you. A better alternative would be making a more permanent rapeX, like one of those insertable birthcontrol devices. This will stop missuse of the product, but women can't have sex while the product is in, with their partner. People will probably disagree with me because it drastically limits the woman's lifestyle, but rape isn't a joke, and either is sadistacally maiming a penis. If you're seriously afraid of rape this glorified chastity belt will help. Perhaps a taser type device would help.
This product is just too dishonest
All women out there, if your afraid of rape, and don't know what to do. Take some self defense classes, they will not only make you ready ro defend an assailent, the classes will make you feel bettter about walking down the street.
ROFL!
me too
Me Too
victimsubject for you..Isn't it typical and ironic how those people are always calling everyone "morons" or "idiots" ..?
RT?
Can we not put my nic on it giving advice, please?
OOOHHHH! Can we redirect people who click on those google links to some irritating website?
I rate this device 2 vagina dentures out of a possible 10 vagina dentures.