Lately, I’ve been consumed with stories about violence against women. First there was the woman who was beheaded by her abusive soon-to-be ex-husband in upstate New York and then on the other side of the world there was a group of women in India who were beat up for having a few drinks and dancing at a pub in the middle of the afternoon.
Both these stories were disturbing and left me deeply angered. Violence against any human, regardless of gender, race, religion (or any other factor for that matter) is wrong and should not be tolerated. The violence that women face at the hands of men is particularly poignant for me as a woman myself.
Rape is one of the most heinous and widespread forms of violence against women. 1 in 6 women will experience a completed or attempted rape in their lifetime and only 6% of their rapists will ever spend a day in jail. There goes that anger bubbling up inside of me again.
Sexual violence is very much sided against women. That is not to say that men aren’t raped. They are, but to a much less degree. Only 1 in 33 men will experience an attempted or completed rape as compared to 1 in 6 women. Think about your mother, sisters, or girlfriends. It is much easier to picture 6 women you know as opposed to 33 men. If only there were something women could use to protect themselves…
Introducing FemDefense - a tampon like device a woman can wear in her vagina with a sharp pin at the end which penetrates a perpetrator’s unwanted penis should a rape occur. It was designed by a woman in Sweden after a series of rape attacks in the country, but as you can imagine, it is not a real product.
According to the website, “Her actions are a logical response to the malfunction of the judicial system in a country many consider to have reached a high level of equality between the sexes…The idea for the rape-protection device and the woman behind it have functioned as symbols for the debate on inequality between the sexes and men’s violence against women.”
In fact it has. After publicizing FemDefense in TV commercials , and newspaper and billboard advertisements the product has opened the door for discussions about rape and increased awareness of the problem in Sweden and around the world, even here in the U.S.
Now what about a real solution? Well, I don’t have a solution for you but I do have another interesting and real product – the Rapex condom. Created in 2005 in South Africa, a country where it has been estimated that 1 in every 2 women will be raped, the condom is a device women can wear to not only protect them against rape, but also identify the rapist. When inserted in a woman’s vagina it will attach itself to a rapist’s uninvited penis with its 25 sharp-edged teeth and remain latched on until it is removed by a doctor. Imagine that.
The Rapex condom certainly highlights the brutality of rape in a way I’ve never seen before, but when the scenario pans out in my head it doesn’t end well for the woman either. Think about it. What would a rapist in his blind rage do to a woman after his penis is painfully impaled by razor sharp claws? Or what if you become attached to your perpetrator? Not a pretty picture.
Since most rapes, two-thirds in fact, are committed by someone known to the victim the question of when a woman should wear the device is also problematic. According to the website you should wear the device anytime you have to, “travel long distances alone, on a train, working late, going out on a date with someone you don’t know too well, going to pubs or in any situation that you might not feel comfortable or ever just not sure.” As it turns out though, even if you do feel comfortable and are with people you trust you can still be in danger. So basically you should wear the device all, if not most, of the time.
I guess the better question would be when is it safe to go out without it?
The intention of developing the Rapex condom was to, “empower women to defend themselves against rapists” but I find myself asking what is empowering about the device? That fact that the need for such a device exists is depressing and I don’t know about you but having to insert a dangerous apparatus into my vagina every time I leave the house is not my idea of liberation. (Does a man have to make sure they’ve strapped on their anti-rape jock strap devices when they leave the house?)
It would be empowering to travel alone, take the train, work late, go out on a date, or go out to a bar without worrying about the potential for rape. Women in the U.S. are far less likely to get raped than the women in South Africa, but the danger still exists.
It would be empowering to live a life, wherever that may be, without the fear of rape at all. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Both these stories were disturbing and left me deeply angered. Violence against any human, regardless of gender, race, religion (or any other factor for that matter) is wrong and should not be tolerated. The violence that women face at the hands of men is particularly poignant for me as a woman myself.
Rape is one of the most heinous and widespread forms of violence against women. 1 in 6 women will experience a completed or attempted rape in their lifetime and only 6% of their rapists will ever spend a day in jail. There goes that anger bubbling up inside of me again.
Sexual violence is very much sided against women. That is not to say that men aren’t raped. They are, but to a much less degree. Only 1 in 33 men will experience an attempted or completed rape as compared to 1 in 6 women. Think about your mother, sisters, or girlfriends. It is much easier to picture 6 women you know as opposed to 33 men. If only there were something women could use to protect themselves…
Introducing FemDefense - a tampon like device a woman can wear in her vagina with a sharp pin at the end which penetrates a perpetrator’s unwanted penis should a rape occur. It was designed by a woman in Sweden after a series of rape attacks in the country, but as you can imagine, it is not a real product.
According to the website, “Her actions are a logical response to the malfunction of the judicial system in a country many consider to have reached a high level of equality between the sexes…The idea for the rape-protection device and the woman behind it have functioned as symbols for the debate on inequality between the sexes and men’s violence against women.”
In fact it has. After publicizing FemDefense in TV commercials , and newspaper and billboard advertisements the product has opened the door for discussions about rape and increased awareness of the problem in Sweden and around the world, even here in the U.S.
Now what about a real solution? Well, I don’t have a solution for you but I do have another interesting and real product – the Rapex condom. Created in 2005 in South Africa, a country where it has been estimated that 1 in every 2 women will be raped, the condom is a device women can wear to not only protect them against rape, but also identify the rapist. When inserted in a woman’s vagina it will attach itself to a rapist’s uninvited penis with its 25 sharp-edged teeth and remain latched on until it is removed by a doctor. Imagine that.
The Rapex condom certainly highlights the brutality of rape in a way I’ve never seen before, but when the scenario pans out in my head it doesn’t end well for the woman either. Think about it. What would a rapist in his blind rage do to a woman after his penis is painfully impaled by razor sharp claws? Or what if you become attached to your perpetrator? Not a pretty picture.
Since most rapes, two-thirds in fact, are committed by someone known to the victim the question of when a woman should wear the device is also problematic. According to the website you should wear the device anytime you have to, “travel long distances alone, on a train, working late, going out on a date with someone you don’t know too well, going to pubs or in any situation that you might not feel comfortable or ever just not sure.” As it turns out though, even if you do feel comfortable and are with people you trust you can still be in danger. So basically you should wear the device all, if not most, of the time.
I guess the better question would be when is it safe to go out without it?
The intention of developing the Rapex condom was to, “empower women to defend themselves against rapists” but I find myself asking what is empowering about the device? That fact that the need for such a device exists is depressing and I don’t know about you but having to insert a dangerous apparatus into my vagina every time I leave the house is not my idea of liberation. (Does a man have to make sure they’ve strapped on their anti-rape jock strap devices when they leave the house?)
It would be empowering to travel alone, take the train, work late, go out on a date, or go out to a bar without worrying about the potential for rape. Women in the U.S. are far less likely to get raped than the women in South Africa, but the danger still exists.
It would be empowering to live a life, wherever that may be, without the fear of rape at all. Wouldn’t that be nice?
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