South African anti-rape condom latches on to attackers

[SoCalDem]

Just saw this one.. Guys might think twice:)



slideshow.. this thing looks like what men's nightmares are made of :(

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/lf/090205antirapecondom;_ylt=AsHs6Kol61vg1lOuhFJ6w.9paP0E;_ylu=X3oDMTBjZmlzODllBHNlYwNzc2lncm91cA--

South African anti-rape condom latches on to attackers

Mon Sep 12,10:36 AM ET



KLEINMOND, South Africa (AFP) - A female condom-like device that latches on to a rapist's penis with fish-tooth-like hooks is stirring controversy in South Africa, where the incidence of sexual assault is high.


Called "Rapex", the latex device inserted in the vagina is the brainchild of South African Sonet Ehlers, who has been thinking about an anti-rape device since 1969, when she met a young rape victim."If you have seen a woman that has been raped, she is alive yet she is dead," Ehlers told AFP from her home in Kleinmond, a holiday town some 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Cape Town.

"My biggest drive is to help the woman out," says Ehlers, 57, a mother of two daughters.Rapex attaches itself to the shaft of the penis and can only be removed by a surgeon, forcing a rapist to go to a hospital, where the crime would presumably be uncovered.

"He has got to turn himself in at the nearest hospital and then the police will catch him," said Ehlers, who added that the device does not cause any permanent injury to the man's penis.

"This is not a tool to punish men, but a device to empower women," she said

snip..

[Glenda]

1. Wow! That's a novel idea!

In the article, the opponent says: "It's not progressive at all, this is like a chastity belt. We need to understand that the safety of women is not an individual responsibility, but a societal issue," said Cooper.

Well, that person should come up with a better idea then

[glitch]

4. What an idiot - chastilty belts were locked onto women by males

in their family. These the woman can remove when they want to.
And when the society fails these women, as it has, over and over again, a woman taking her safety into her own hands is her last remaining choice.
The alternative is women's continuing powerlessness and victimization. Or outright aggression, an option never mentioned.

[smartvoter]

13. It will lead to violence though. I read about something similar

that Vietnamese women used and it got really ugly after that and the rapists found ways around them (at the expense of the women). I won't write the details because they are horrific, but it did get worse. Of course, that was in a time of war and maybe there would be better overall protection in this case.

I think it's sad that it even has to be done. I don't get it. I'm a male and rape scenes in movies make me sick. How anyone can do this completely escapes me.

[KittyWampus]

38. how did Vietnamese women try something that is new?

edit- further down thread someone mentions razor diaphrams that employ similiar strategy.

Thanks for your perspective.

[Toots]

73. The rumor was some women inserted razors into their vagina

I believe it was a scare tactic as I personally never heard of a single instance where it occurred and I spent two tours there and a lot of time with the girls if you know what I mean. Remember the US government LIES especially the military part of it.

[smartvoter]

81. I was too young to have been in Vietnam, but I did read a book

detailing experiences with these things. Perhaps they were rare and the prevalence exaggerated... ??? Not that all books are accurate, of course.

[okieinpain]

42. same here. I almost would consider the death penalty in some cases

[Iris]

64. I think rape -if a conviction was made - used to carry penalities

similar to murder convictions. But I think the different degrees of rape changed all that.

[smartvoter]

65. Or castration. Sure to get flamed for it. But I would support it. nt

[IndyJones]

70. completely agree.

They need to do something. If this injurs a man while raping a woman and the only way he can get it off is to go to a hospital, then he's been caught. I hope it works.

[NaturalHigh]

80. If the rapist has to go to an ER...

I hope he has to wait for hours behind a bunch of skinned knees and runny noses. When he finally gets to the front of the line, he should have to fill out about forty pages of insurance information. After he finally gets it removed, then he can go to jail.

[Botany]

2. ow!

:scared:

[Jersey Devil]

3. Only problem is that it might also get the woman killed

Since rape is a crime of violence I would think that the violent rapist would get even more violent when he realizes he has been tricked. So if the woman wasn't already going to be killed this might do it.

[DS1]

5. Yeah, but it would be cool if it could implant a tiny explosive

that's set to go off 30 minutes later. It doesn't prevent the crime, of course, but it will stop that person doing it again;

[Jersey Devil]

9. OMG, if the subject weren't so serious I would laugh

I keep imagining some guy running around hysterical knowing his dick is going to explode.

[txindy]

26. OMG

:spray:

[gkhouston]

33. basically, isn't that your typical 15 year old male?

;-)

[lukasahero]

12. "when he realizes he has been tricked."

Interesting choice of words. How exactly was he "tricked"? Don't you mean "when he realizes he's been caught"?

Regarding the increased potential for violence, I'm thinking he's not going to be in any shape to further brutalize the woman while he's got one of those things riding his "precious".

[SoCalDem]

17. exactly.. the woman could choose to remove it, if she wants

"contact" with a man.. This is for when she does NOT want his "affections".

[Iris]

60. that was going to be my question for the men here -

My first thought was of the potential for further violence, but from what I've seen, a messed up penis takes over and is quite incapacitating on it's own.

[Zynx]

61. It's like a swift kick to the nuts I would imagine.

The woman may have enough time to get away unless the guy has a gun.

[IndyJones]

71. How was he tricked?

[smartvoter]

6. Reminds me of the razor diaphragms that Vietnamese women

used. The springs let the penis through, but pull back and it's gone. I haven't thought about that in a long time. It was a sad, disturbing book.

On edit: According to that book -- wish I could remember the title -- read it nearly 20 years ago -- it did lead to more violence against the women.

[Art_from_Ark]

84. One of my supervisors from long ago had been in Viet Nam

He told me about his buddy's experience with the razor diaphragm. Apparently his buddy had a Vietnamese girldfriend. One day, he immediately went limp after penetration. Upon withdrawal, he found that his "member" was all bloody. Realizing what had happened, he took out his weapon and blew the woman away.

:scared:

[DavidDvorkin]

7. What an intelligent condom! It knows the man's a rapist!

The device could be used deliberately against an innocent man. One can certainly imagine such scenarios.

[electron_blue]

11. I'm sure that many men will claim they were "innocent"

At any rate, the story says it does no permanent damage.

I can see the backlash on this, though. Men checking before they rape, and then attacking/killing if they find it. And the next step would be to have gang "checks" just to see which women are wearing one, and then presumably punishment for those women would follow. I don't see this as really solving anything long term, other than the first man or two who is caught. You have to empower women legally, end of story.

[smartvoter]

16. I was just writing in another post that I read about something

similar in Vietnam and the men figured out ways around it rather quickly. It just got worse.

Sucks that they even have to deal with this s**t. I just don't get rape, period.

[lukasahero]

14. You mean like men have been doing to women via rape for eons?

Men have been brutalizing innocent women using rape since the dawn of time. Maybe if innocent men knew what it was like to physically fear the potential of the other gender, they'd be more interested in stopping rape in the first place.

[DavidDvorkin]

19. All men are guilty?

All men brutalize women? Your first sentence reveals that you think of men in such terms.

As for the second sentence, an innocent man is not responsible for what a brutal man does, except in the general sense that we -- men and women -- should try to reduce violence of all types. But I feel no more special responsibility to stop men from committing rape than I do to stop certain mothers from abusing their children.

[noiretextatique]

20. if he's innocent

he shouldn't have a problem. this device is an attempt to address the epidemic of rape in south africa. how on earth can you equate rapists to "all men?"

[DavidDvorkin]

29. The condom doesn't know he's innocent

That was my point. If the woman has that device inside her, it doesn't know what the situation is.

[lukasahero]

35. The woman can take it out when she wants to have sex

Short of her doing that, it's rape.

[redqueen]

41. Seems pretty simple.

:shrug:

[DavidDvorkin]

48. Or she can leave it in even if it's not rape

She may have some reason of her own to mislead an innocent man and injure him. That does happen. The condom device doesn't know the difference.

[seabeyond]

54. you are right she may. just as man, from beginning of time may

have some ulterior motive with woman, like rape.

yes

you are correct

and

so

what.

men continue getting a free ride with rape. gets scary doesn't it. scary for women from beginning of time. welcome to our world

[DavidDvorkin]

57. Once again, you lump all men together

"Men are getting a free ride." "Welcome to our world."

This is sexit rubbish.

The device under discussion can be used by an evil or deranged woman to injure an innocent man. That was my point, and it remains valid.

[seabeyond]

58. as you lump all women

yes it can be used by some bad woman. just as some bad men rape women. so both the good women and the good men both live in the same scary world. hence my argument, welcome to my world

[DavidDvorkin]

59. No, I specifically and carefully did not lump all women together

You're reacting instead of reading.

[seabeyond]

62. wrong. not reacting

and you still have not acknowledge what i say to you. these women using this as a device to discourage rape in high rape countries, where men are not prosecuted may be abused by few. i acknowledge. doesnt mean it should go away. mans rape of woman has been beginning of time. women have endured. (is this lumping all men. no, it is a whole. men (not all) rape women) the women that abuse this device, should be prosecuted, just as the man that rapes should be prosecuted. we can all be wary. for the first time, MAN along with woman.

[smartvoter]

56. His point is for those who have been with psycho girlfriends.

I know a woman, for example, who spent months trying to get back with her ex-husband. When he relented and they got back together, she deliberately gave him herpes and then laughed her butt off about getting him.

What he's getting at in the thread above is that it could be used against men by this kind of woman. He clearly has had experience -- whether directly or indirectly -- with someone like the example I just used.

He didn't justify or dismiss the rape issue.

(I don't usually jump in to others' arguments, but I could see the disconnect here and thought this might help.)

[Zynx]

63. Simple enough.

Unless she forgets.

[noiretextatique]

43. are you grasping that his device is a protection

for a problem that's become an epidemic in south africa, i.e, rape?

[msrbly]

8. Does this draw blood?

and if so, is that such a great idea in a part of the world where AIDS runs rampant?

[SoCalDem]

10. It might, but perhaps the teeth are on the inside

He would only be exposed to his own blood, and I would imagine that any blood drawn would leave when he ..um.. retreated :)

[Dorian Gray]

25. That is an excellent point.

I worry about that a lot, msrbly. Even if it's trace amounts, that's all that is needed.

[gkhouston]

32. the rape victim would already be exposed to semen, no?

even a tiny dribble of pre-ejaculate would suffice to transmit STDs... and I'd be more worried about being beaten to death by the rapist.

[TorchTheWitch]

15. This does exactly ZERO to stop rape

Once the woman has been penetrated it is rape ALREADY. Whether or not the guy gets off a few strokes or not is immaterial. Calling this thing an anti-rape device is stupid... it doesn't do a damn thing to stop rape at all.

[LisaL]

24. Exactly. I imagine carrying an old-fashioned knife would be

better in preventing rapes.

[lukasahero]

36. Knives are one of the easiest weapons for the rapist

to get ahold of and use against the victim.

[Zynx]

67. A woman does not want to struggle for a knife against a man.

That's arm strength on arm strength, and unless you have both an unusually weak man and an unusually strong woman, the woman is going to lose that contest every time.

[Lorien]

77. Er, yeah it does

From the article:
"He has got to turn himself in at the nearest hospital and then the police will catch him," said Ehlers, who added that the device does not cause any permanent injury to the man's penis.


The only way it can be removed is by a surgeon. A rapist who has been caught is less likely to rape again, therefore it helps to prevent rape.

[TorchTheWitch]

85. Do you not know what rape is?

Like I said, it does NOTHING to stop rape. In order for those things to latch onto a rapist's penis he has to PENATRATE the victim... if you've been PENATRATED, you've ALREADY been raped. Incidently, being penatrated by anything else besides a penis is ALSO rape... fingers, a foreign object, etc, and it isn't limited to just the vagina... you can be raped in any orfice.

All this thing does it make it more likely that a rapist will be caught as long as he choses to rape a victim by penetrating her vagina... it DOES NOT stop rape from happening.

[Lorien]

78. self delete

techincal glitch-double post.

[juajen]

18. Just use a warning sign

You know, like on the outside of a house protected by a security system. I actually like this idea a lot. No woman would use one of these on someone they are having a relatinship with. There might be the occasional sadist; but, I'm sure the number of rapists would far outnumber victims of women's viciousness. Amazing, those vicious women. They just keep getting meaner and meaner.

Perhaps a very pretty ring could denote the wearer of these very special condoms. I like this idea.

[noiretextatique]

21. same with rapists

they seem to be getting more vicious. i recall the man who cut off the arms of his victim...i'm not sure she was a young teenager at the time. not too mention abductions and torturers. i've seen some horrific posts about such incidents right here on DU.

[LisaL]

22. Yea, sure. Lets identify the woman wearing this thing.

Then rapist will know what to look for.
:eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[noiretextatique]

23. perhaps a scarlet "R"

as a warning to potential rapists :eyes:

[SoCalDem]

28. or a big "J".... for

[Kelvin Mace]

47. "Warning: This hoo hoo protected by Peno-shred!"

The anti-rape device that is strong enough for a man, but made for a woman.

[Zhade]

27. If it works, awesome.

I support a woman doing whatever she can to mutilate or kill a would-be rapist.

[helderheid]

30. I LOVE it!

[Window]

31. Dayum!

.

[dhinojosa]

34. Venus now has her flytrap...

gotcha!

[IndyJones]

69. Yep.

[MojoXN]

37. Well, that mostly pointless...

SCENARIO: I am a degenerate who preys on women for sexual gratification. I rape them whenever I feel like it. When I learn about this device, do I stop raping women? No. I start anally raping women instead.

Which, to my mind is just as bad, if not worse, than vaginal rape.

MojoXN

[geomon666]

45. Analex?

:shrug:

[MojoXN]

52. Or something like that...

This message has been brought to you by MojoXN.

[jmowreader]

79. Let's modify your scenario a bit

Joe is a degenerate who preys on women for sexual gratification. He rapes them whenever he feels like it. When he learns about this device, he doesn't stop raping; instead, he starts feeling down there for its presence. If he finds it, he beats the woman senseless with his fists, removes the device and THEN rapes her.

I still think this is a bad, dangerous thing for women to use. And no, I don't have an answer to the Rape Problem. Except, perhaps, to stop holding illegal wars so there will be enough law enforcement here, and possibly legalizing marijuana so we have enough prison space for violent felons.

[newportdadde]

39. Psycho girlfriends dream come true.

Instead of taking a baseball bat to his car or scissors to his clothes just break out one of these.

[MojoXN]

40. Indeed...

I hadn't considered that, but you make an excellent point.

MojoXN

[DavidDvorkin]

49. Yep. See subthread above

In which I pointed out that the device doesn't know if the man is really a rapist.

[noiretextatique]

51. South Africa has one of the highest rape statistics in the world

if you care to learn about the problem there, i.e., why this device was created, do a google search on south africa and rape. when i did that, i found this article...one of many, btw.

An Overview of Rape in South Africa
Mary Robertson

South Africa has one of the highest rape statistics in the world. In 1988, a total of 19 308 cases of rape were reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS). In 1994, this figure increased to 42 429 reported cases of rape. In 1996, 50 481 cases of rape were reported to the SAPS. According to the National Institute for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation (NICRO), the situation is more serious.

NICRO has estimated that only one in twenty rapes are reported to the police. On the basis of this estimate,it is calculated that one rape occurs every 83 seconds.The SAPS has recently presented an even bleaker picture and they have suggested that one rape occurs every 35 seconds.
Causes

Various explanations have been proposed to explain what factors may contribute to the high incidence of rape in South Africa. These include:

*

Sociological explanations which locate the roots of rape in male and female roles in our society. South Africa is traditionally a male dominated and patriarchal society. Women hold limited power and authority and are frequently exploited. Research suggests that rape is more prevalent in such societies.

http://www.csvr.org.za/articles/artrapem.htm

[DavidDvorkin]

53. I'm from South Africa originally

I'm aware of the problem. That does not invalidate anything I posted.

[noiretextatique]

72. actually, it does

given the high incidence of rape in south africa, it's seems odd that some of you males are more concerned about the potential for abuse by women with this device that was created because of the reality of actual sexual abuse perpetrated by men.
it seem odd to me, anyway.

[DavidDvorkin]

74. That's very Republican of you!

"Hang them all. Better that an occasional innocent man be executed than that a lot of murderers escape the noose."

[noiretextatique]

82. and the women who are being raped? any concern about them

or the epidemic of rape the device was designed to address?
REPUBLICAN doesn't begin to describe what you are.
clue: stop identifying with the RAPISTS...that should ease your concerns.

[DavidDvorkin]

83. You obviously know nothing about me

And you should avoid accusations based on ignorance and kneejerk assumptions.

[enid602]

44. too bad

Too bad Barbara Bush didn't have one of these, back when she was raped by Satan.

[Brother Buzz]

46. Perhaps there is merit to the phobia Vagina Dentata

I hope it catches on.

[julialnyc]

50. question

is this something that you always have in or do you need to put it in. If it was always in wouldn't it be sorta uncomfortable..... and if you need to insert it, how can you determine when at risk?

[SoCalDem]

66. I guess they might just have one "in case"

:shrug:

[Catherine Vincent]

55. I love that idea.

We need that here in the states! Unfortunately.:-(

[Darth Lib]

68. How bad must it be over there

to need something like this?

[philosophie_en_rose]

75. That's what I think.

It's not a solution to anything, but it's a statement against rape.

A woman has the right to use her body as she wants to. If rapists don't like it, I can hardly gather any sympathy.

[Vektor]

76. They need to improve that device...

so it completely SEVERS the rapist's penis. Then I'll by stock in that little item.