South Africa anti-rape condom aims to stop attacks

[Donger]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050831/...k_safrica_rape

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 as 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 through surgery which will alert hospital staff, and ultimately, the police, she said.

It also reduces the chances of a woman falling pregnant or contracting AIDS 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 was 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 co-ordinator for Rape Crisis.

Other critics say the condom is mediaeval 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.

[Whosurdaddy]

Sounds Brilliant you introduce a condom that rips open a person in the largest AIDS afflicted place on earth. That will really stem the tide of AIDS infections...Dumbest thing I've ever heard

[chefsos]

http://www.wmdt.com/topstory/displaystory.asp?id=582

A Woman Was Nearly Raped By "Good Samaritan"
By WMDT STAFF -- WMDT 8/31/2005

A woman was nearly raped Tuesday night by a man she initially thought was a good Samaritan. Her car broke down and she accepted a ride from a stranger. Instead of taking her home, however, the man took her down Catchpenny Road in Hebron and tried to rape her.

He didn't, though, because she hit him in the face with a hammer that was in the car and she got away.

The suspect is a Middle Eastern man who likely has injuries to his head and face. He was driving a black Honda Accord, with Virginia plates, possibly beginning with "R-X-L."

Anyone with information should call the Wicomico Bureau of Investigation.



Portions of this story copyright —2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Ugly Duck]

Originally Posted by Donger

But the "rapex" has raised fears amongst anti-rape activists that it could escalate violence against women.

Hmmm.. I wonder if digging little hooks into a violent rapist's dick might really piss him off? Just a thought...

[Chan93lx50]

there was pics!

[Amnorix]

Nice.