Thursday - June 22, 2006

Women: Arm Yourself!

This little device was announced last September with very little fanfare but has managed to create quite a controversy in the ensuing nine months since. Personally, I’d be all for this little “clamp” for rapists. It is fitting punishment for violating a woman against her will. I think every gal should have one for those trips to the ATM at midnight.

The only problem I might see is the ditzy blonde I’m out on a date with who got a little tipsy and forgot she was wearing it when she invited me back to her apartment and dropped her clothes. Even worse would be the angry wife or girlfriend who ... never mind. Gals aren’t really that sadistic are they? I better quit now. Following that last train of thought caused me to start shaking all over - especially when I recall what a sadistic, spiteful beeyatch my last wife turned into during the divorce. YIKES!

New Anti-Rape Female Condom
_{September 5, 2005}

So what is this device, for which design South African inventor Sonette Ehlers was inspired after meeting a traumatised rape victim who told her, “If only I had teeth down there”, all about?

A medieval device built on hatred of men? Or a cheap, easy-to-use invention that could free millions of South African women from fear of rape, in a country with the world’s worst sexual assault record?

“Rapex”, the condom-like device bristling with internal hooks designed to snare rapists has re-ignited controversy over South Africa’s alarming rape rate, even before plans for its production were announced in Western Cape this week. The device, concealed inside a woman’s body, hooks onto a rapist during penetration and must be surgically removed.

Ms Ehlers said the rape trap would be so painful for a rapist that it would disable him immediately, enabling his victim to escape; but would cause no long-term physical damage and could not injure the woman.

“I don’t hate men. I love men. I have not got revenge in mind. All I am doing is giving women their power back,” Ms Ehlers said. “I don’t even hate rapists. But I hate the deed with a passion.”

- The original announcement at MedGadget last Fall

Anti-rape Device Postponed
_{June 21, 2006, 06:45}

The controversial anti-rape device, Rapex, which was scheduled to make its debut on store shelves this month, is likely only to be available towards the end of the year. The invention which was launched in August last year, is the brainchild of Sonette Ehlers, a retired South African blood technician. The mechanism will clamp itself to a rapist’s penis forcing him to seek medical treatment and face arrest.

According to Ehlers, stock of the device is being manufactured overseas and will be imported back from the East into South Africa before the end of the year. Ehlers says she spends a lot of time in prisons and townships educating people about the device. The project has been greeted with enthusiasm as well as scepticism. One of those critical of the device is Charlene Smith, a rape survivor, journalist and activist on women’s issues. She says she believes the device will increase the risk of victims being killed.

“I would be appalled and every rape survivor I know would be appalled and be incredibly concerned, if the Rapex device does actually make it to stores. We believe that women who use it, will be killed by the rapist. If this device clamps onto a man, that man is right next to the woman, he’s not going to jump out and say ‘oh gosh this is hurting me’. He’s going to kill that woman. So we increase the risk of the women raped, being killed,” Smith said.

Ehlers says she is not perturbed by criticism of her invention. She replied and said, “I love criticism, but only when people know what they’re talking about, then I love it. But you know, number one, is they say its medieval, I say its a mediaeval device for a mediaeval deed. And another thing is the very same people that criticise it they should go out and educate the burglars too so we that we can all remove the burglar bars from our windows. We don’t even need to have the locks on our cars. So I mean this is a security device.”

Smith adds that in the case of gang rape, the victim is in even greater danger, but Ehlers says after being caught in the device, the perpetrator is likely to identify his accomplices to police. Lindsay Smith of Africa Contingency Consultants who specialises in Crisis and Threat Management believes the device will not work in an already violent society.

“I support any endeavour to prevent rape, but one must be realistic in a violent society where one must be careful of violence breeding violence or violence breeds violence. If you’re in a violent situation with a violent person, the average violent person is not necessarily just going to get up and run away once he’s been injured, especially if its in a gang situation. And that is my problem I have with Rapex. Is it not gonna effectively take an already violent person and make him more excessively violent?” While the controversy rages on, the true test will be when it finally hits the shelves - hopefully later this year.

- More on the postponement at SABC ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/22/2006 at 10:40 AM   
Filed Under: • Odd-Strange • Sex •  
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