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| The Rape-aXe |
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| Dr. Ehlers shows off the new condom |
An anti-rape condom? Is it available in Nigeria? You are sure it will stop the devil from perfuming the act? I’m all for it. Even my daughters will wear it!
That was the reaction of Mrs. G.E. when informed that scientists have invented a female condom to protect women from rape. The new anti-rape condom, called “Rape-aXe,” is filled with sharp, microscopic barbs or hooks which automatically sticks to the penis during penetration. Once it latches on to the skin, the condom can only be removed surgically, which will mean that attackers will have to go to the hospital and risk getting caught.
The theory is that while the attacker is stunned and doubled- over with pain, the woman will have a chance to flee the scene before the rapist has a chance to do further damage to her
“It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it’s on. 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,” the South African inventor, Dr. Sonnet Ehlers told CNN.
Ehlers developed the condom seven years ago and says it’s now ready for widespread use, About 30,000 free samples were distributed around the various South African cities where the 2010 World Cup football matches took place.
South Africa is the perfect testing ground for Rape-aXe, considering that one out of every four South African men say they have raped a woman. According to BBC, half of those men also admit to multiple rapes, and many say they’ve participated in gang rapes.
A 2009 report by the nation’s Medical Research Council found that 28 percent of men surveyed had raped a woman or girl, with one in 20 saying they had raped in the past year. It is also believed that 16 percent of the population is living with HIV.
Ehlers, a retired blood technician was extremely alarmed by the high rape statistics in South Africa, which has one of the highest rates in the world. She decided to do something about it and came up with the Rape-aXe. According to her, she drew inspiration for the invention from a South Asian mythology and speculative fiction “the legend of the vagina dentata,” or “A vagina with a set of teeth.” The device was unveiled in August of 2005.
Rape-aXe a latex female condom, can be inserted by a woman, like a tampon, any time she feels threatened of sexual assault. According to Ehlers the devise went through proper research and development steps before its introduction.
‘I consulted engineers, gynecologists and psychologists to help in the design and make sure it was safe,’ she said.
“That is what we need in this country,” Mrs GE, a Lagosian told Good Health. I think someone should import it and get NAFDAC’s approval immediately. That young girl who was killed recently by robbers who tried to rape her in the presence of her parents would probably have been alive if she had such a device. Yes you may not know that the robbers would visit you but we’ve had of situations where they go from flat to flat maiming and raping innocent women. You simply wear your condom if you are aware they have visited your home. You don’t need to protest when they try to force you. Your condom will fight for you. How sweet!”
Some women did not however share the excitement.
“How will you know a rapist is around the corner?” Another respondent who pleaded anonymity asked. “Then there’s this problem of the rapists being more than one. Won’t his gang members harm the victim if they see that the condom has hooked their friend? Will the attacker himself not get more violent when he realizes that he can’t remove it without ripping the skin off his penis?”
Ehlers however says the condom will be most useful for women who live, work, or regularly pass through places or spots where they can be attacked.
“The ideal situation would be for a woman to wear this when she’s going out on some kind of blind date ... or to an area she’s not comfortable with,” she says.
In spite of the fears, some women in Nigeria believe that Rape-aXe is worth trying.
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