Except....vaginas with teeth are not actually science fiction anymore. There is a new anti-rape device being marketed in South Africa as a method to apprehend rapists. The device is similar to a "female condom" except that it is thicker and lined with mini blades/teeth that hook into an a rapist's penis and can only be surgically removed. As someone who is planning on spending a month in South Africa this summer (HOORAY!), information about how high the rape statistics are in there are incredibly frightening to me, especially those practiced on lesbians for "corrective" purposes. But I wonder if the pros of this device outweigh the cons.
Pros:
>Rapists will be apprehended in medical facilities.
>Rates of rape could potentially decrease.
Cons:
>Women are still being raped. Just because the penis will be immediately removed from pain, that doesn't mean women are not being violated physically and mentally.
>The responsibility to stop rape now falls on women to remember to where the device, rather on men to NOT rape?
>While the rapist will be in pain, it's possible that they may be able to overcome the pain and commit further acts of escalated violence.
I guess in the end, this drastic issue calls for drastic measures, but I'm not sure if this is the only solution to ending rape in South Africa. What are your thoughts?
So, I see both sides of this argument... Of course it's a really horrible thing that rape and sexual assault is so prevalent in South Africa, and women do need a way to protect themselves. However, I believe that the device places the blame and responsibility on the victim rather than on the perpetrator. In an ideal world, women would be able to live their lives without constantly being worried about being raped or assaulted. In my Women in Contemporary Society class (kind of like Feminism 201), I learned, or rather realized, that women tend to live on a "rape schedule," meaning that when we are walking to our cars in the dark, we might put our keys between our fingers just in case we get attacked or we don't walk anywhere alone at night. This device will only add to that feeling. It can be helpful, given the current state, but if South Africa is really serious about solving this problem, there needs to be a culture change. I know that is easier said than done, and I know that wearing one of these devices is easier than changing the culture, but in the long run, I don't really think they are going to help.
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