"Teeth" to Fight Rape

[Archie Moses]

https://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/06/20/south.africa.female.condom/index.html?hpt=C2

(CNN) -- South African Dr. Sonnet Ehlers was on call one night four decades ago when a devastated rape victim walked in. Her eyes were lifeless; she was like a breathing corpse.

"She looked at me and said, 'If only had teeth down there,'" recalled Ehlers, who was a 20-year-old medical researcher at the time. "I promised her I'd do something to help people like her one day."

Forty years later, Rape-aXe was born.

Ehlers is distributing the female condoms in the various South African cities where the World Cup soccer games are taking place.

The woman inserts the latex condom like a tampon. Jagged rows of teeth-like hooks line its inside and attach on a man's ***** during penetration, Ehlers said.

Once it lodges, only a doctor can remove it -- a procedure Ehlers hopes will be done with authorities on standby to make an arrest.

"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."

Ehlers said she sold her house and car to launch the project, and she planned to distribute 30,000 free devices under supervision during the World Cup period.

"I consulted engineers, gynecologists and psychologists to help in the design and make sure it was safe," she said.

After the trial period, they'll be available for about $2 a piece. She hopes the women will report back to her.
It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it's on. If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter
--Dr Sonnet Ehlers
RELATED TOPICS

* Sexual Offenses
* South Africa

"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 said.

The mother of two daughters said she visited prisons and talked to convicted rapists to find out whether such a device would have made them rethink their actions.

Some said it would have, Ehlers said.

Critics say the female condom is not a long-term solution and makes women vulnerable to more violence from men trapped by the device.

It's also a form of "enslavement," said Victoria Kajja, a fellow for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the east African country of Uganda. "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 said the device constantly 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."

However, its one advantage is it allows justice to be served, she said.

Various rights organizations that work in South Africa declined to comment, including Human Rights Watch and Care International.

South Africa has one of the highest rape rates in the world, Human Rights Watch says on its website. 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, according to Human Rights Watch.

In most African countries, rape convictions are not common. Affected women don't get immediate access to medical care, and DNA tests to provide evidence are unaffordable.

"Women and girls who experience these violations are denied justice, factors that contribute to the normalization of rape and violence in South African society," Human Rights Watch says.

Women take drastic measures to prevent rape in South Africa, Ehlers said, with some wearing extra tight biker shorts and others inserting razor blades in their private parts.

Critics have accused her of developing a medieval device to fight rape.

"Yes, my device may be a medieval, but it's for a medieval deed that has been around for decades," she said. "I believe something's got to be done ... and this will make some men rethink before they assault a woman."

 

[Stickler]

I can't imagine who would have a problem with this. Rapists? I mean -- **** them.

 

[Gameface]

The woman who opposes this device, Victoria Kajja, has some pretty weak arguments. She says that using this device enslaves women:

"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."

If a woman considers wearing this device she has already been enslaved by the fear of being raped. It said that when surveyed 28% of men say they have raped a woman, 20% say they have done so within the last year. That is simply unbelievable and unacceptable. Women in that country need everything they can use to prevent themselves from being raped and discourage men from even considering it.

 

[DutchJazzer]

The woman who opposes this device, Victoria Kajja, has some pretty weak arguments. She says that using this device enslaves women:



If a woman considers wearing this device she has already been enslaved by the fear of being raped. It said that when surveyed 28% of men say they have raped a woman, 20% say they have done so within the last year. That is simply unbelievable and unacceptable. Women in that country need everything they can use to prevent themselves from being raped and discourage men from even considering it.

yet fifa demands that women wearing bavaria shirts be arrested and prosecuted.

 

[Nate505]

I can't imagine who would have a problem with this. Rapists? I mean -- **** them.

Anyone ever heard of the law of unintended consequences?

Not to get gross on anyone, but there are areas of the body one can rape where this condom doesn't seem to apply. Would rapists just start gravitating towards those areas if they were afraid of the new Jaws rubber? One particular area is also the way the vast majority of HIV cases are spread when there is unprotected sex.

 

[Stickler]

Don't fight it or something worse might happen. This is your thinking? Ugh. I don't really have a civil response to that.

 

[Gameface]

Don't fight it or something worse might happen. This is your thinking? Ugh. I don't really have a civil response to that.

No kidding. Through elementary school I was the shortest and skinniest kid in my class pretty much all the time. Bullies were pretty quick to target me. I had a pretty simple rule, messing with me would be messy, one way or another. I had another rule, if it was clear that a fight was unavoidable, take the first punch. All I can say is that I only had about one fight a year.

Standing up for yourself is never a mistake.

 

[moevillini]

https://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/06/20/south.africa.female.condom/index.html?hpt=C2

"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 said....

...Critics say the female condom is not a long-term solution and makes women vulnerable to more violence from men trapped by the device...

to the first point, umm no???? What if the woman forgets it's there and changes her mind? Or what if a particularly devious woman decides this might be a fun way to get revenge?

to the second point, I can see this as a valid concern. I have no idea what the level of physical violence outside the actual act of forcible penetration generally occurs in a typical rape, but I can see something like this enraging a guy to further harm his victim in other ways.

otherwise, it's a pretty interesting concept.

 

[Gameface]

I suddenly wonder how this "holds on" when the guy loses his erection.

 

[UB]

"Yes, my device may be a medieval, but it's for a medieval deed that has been around for decades," she said. "I believe something's got to be done ... and this will make some men rethink before they assault a woman."

I think rape has been around for more than a few decades...

 

[VINYLONE]

So, wait, is there a JF member that is arguing against this?

 

[//r00t 4 Jazz]

So, wait, is there a JF member that is arguing against this?

I think they're just upset it wasn't invented earlier, you know to keep you from being conceived.

J/K welcome back Viny

*edit that kinda could come across more harsh then I meant sorry*

 

[UB]

I think they're just upset it wasn't invented earlier, you know to keep you from being conceived.

J/K welcome back Viny

*edit that kinda could come across more harsh then I meant sorry*

No that was spot on.

 

[prodigal punk]

I think they're just upset it wasn't invented earlier, you know to keep you from being conceived.

J/K welcome back Viny

*edit that kinda could come across more harsh then I meant sorry*

+1 rep. No question.

 

[TroutBum]

No that was spot on.

This all assumes that Viny's father was, in fact, a human male?

 

[VINYLONE]

I think they're just upset it wasn't invented earlier, you know to keep you from being conceived.

J/K welcome back Viny

*edit that kinda could come across more harsh then I meant sorry*

I'm going to say that that was pretty mean spirited...especially for a Monday.

 

[Nate505]

Don't fight it or something worse might happen. This is your thinking? Ugh. I don't really have a civil response to that.

Yeah, that was exactly my thinking. Not that while this thing is good intentioned that it could cause the problem to be worse. Because those are the exact same lines of thought.

 

[VINYLONE]

Yeah, that was exactly my thinking. Not that while this thing is good intentioned that it could cause the problem to be worse. Because those are the exact same lines of thought.

Yeah, well, Nate. There is that chance. That said, you never know if in that culture, anal sex is considered taboo or dirty. You never know. That said, you have to start somewhere.

 

[Nate505]

Yeah, well, Nate. There is that chance. That said, you never know if in that culture, anal sex is considered taboo or dirty. You never know. That said, you have to start somewhere.

Maybe, but Id' rather see a woman start with a gun and shoot the rapist.

Aside from that, eventually rapists will just, uh, check to see if something is there. Not to mention they might get extremely violent towards the woman if their wang gets caught in one of these things.

I'm not even arguing against these things per se. I have no problem if someone who is a legit rapist gets their manhood whacked off. But I can see the drawbacks here.

Another scenario. What if you're dating some psycho chick (and god knows I've seen a few of those in my life) who decides to use that on you for whatever reason after you agreed to have consensual sex with her. Not only will you suffer, but you would get the false brand as a rapist for just trying to get the damn thing off.

 

[VINYLONE]

Maybe, but Id' rather see a woman start with a gun and shoot the rapist.

Aside from that, eventually rapists will just, uh, check to see if something is there. Not to mention they might get extremely violent towards the woman if their wang gets caught in one of these things.

I'm not even arguing against these things per se. I have no problem if someone who is a legit rapist gets their manhood whacked off. But I can see the drawbacks here.

Another scenario. What if you're dating some psycho chick (and god knows I've seen a few of those in my life) who decides to use that on you for whatever reason after you agreed to have consensual sex with her. Not only will you suffer, but you would get the false brand as a rapist for just trying to get the damn thing off.

Nate, nothing is full proof. And there are always unintended consequences. In your scenario of "crazy chick" couldn't she do the same damage with the gun she owns?