Female condom with ‘teeth’ soon to be available to the public

 

The 16 days of activism period was carefully chosen to also coincide with International Day of No Violence Against Women which falls on 25 November; International Women Human Rights Defenders Day on 29 November; World Aids Day on 1 December; International Day for the Disabled on 3 December; and International Human Rights Day on 10 December.  Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991. Participants chose the dates, November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women and December 10, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights.

This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991. Participants chose the dates, November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women and December 10, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights.

This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.

 

Rape-aXe, an anti-rape device that is reminiscent of a female condom, should be hitting the shelves next year.

 

Rape-aXe was invented by former medical technician, Sonnet Ehlers (65) and it is a latex sheath embedded with rows of sharp, inward-facing plastic spikes that would be worn by a woman in her vagina. According to Ms Ehlers, the woman inserts it like a tampon, with an applicator, and a man who tries to rape her will be trapped by the spikes.

 

Ms Ehlers told What’s Lekker that the attacker’s penis would enter the latex sheath and be caught by the spikes, causing him excruciating pain which gives the victim time to escape. “It comes in an applicator like a tampon and is the same size as a tampon. You will remove it with the applicator. There are no tell-tell signs that you are wearing Rape-aXe as it fits behind the labia,” she said.

 

She adds that the device remains attached to the attacker's body when he withdraws and can only be removed surgically, “which will lead to the capture of the rapist”.

 

According to Ms Ehlers, who is based in the Western Cape, it has taken 40 years to bring the project into fruition. When asked how she came up with the idea, Ms Ehlers said that she thought of the idea in the 60’s while working as a blood technician at the South African National Blood Service where she used to meet a lot of rape survivors. She invented Rape-aXe when one of the survivors who had been severely sexually assaulted stated, “If only I had teeth down there”.

 

 

Ms Ehlers said that it has been a struggle getting the correct equipment and the proper barbs adding that she has been in discussion with 10 engineers about the Rape-aXe design. She adds that she had to sell her car and one of her properties to fund the project.

 

Ms Ehlers said that the holdup has been due to the fact that upon filing a patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which is an international application, the application is then sent to Geneva. She said that it is a 30-month process that involves the public being able to lodge complaints if they feel that you have infringed on their idea.

 

Ms Ehlers said that this 30-month period gave her time to do more research on the device. ‘During this period I did research in prisons where I talked to rapists just to find out how their mind works. I then had to go back to the drawing board. I also brought on board a medical engineer Vince Leskewhich who was born in the United States but lives in Greece. We also had a volunteer that tried Rape-aXe. He reported that he was totally immobile which is exactly what I wanted so that he cannot harm his victim,’ she said. ‘We also need to get distributors for each country and funding remains a major problem. Vince is currently in China looking for manufacturing possibilities, ’she said. She added that as soon as funds are in place, they will open a factory in the Far East and the manufacturing of the device will begin. “We are fighting very hard to get Rape-aXe on the shelves before the end of next year” she said.  

 

Ms Ehlers said that just like most condoms, Rape-aXe also usually prevents pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections because it cannot come off unless it is surgically removed which means that there is no transfer of body fluids. “Remember he is tagged and Rape-aXe can only be removed by a surgeon,” she said.

 

Ms Ehlers said that they have filed patent applications in order to protect the invention in the United States, India, Malaysia and South Africa. She added that more countries would follow.

 

Rape-aXe has been met with a number of criticism. Some have criticised the device for being a medieval punishment, which Ms Ehlers replies, “a medieval deed deserves a medieval consequence!” Some critics say that rape is not about sex but about power and have questioned what happens if the rapist does not use penetration or if he uses something either than his penis to penetrate the victim. While others have argued that the pain caused by the device will make the rapist angrier which will put the victim’s life at risk.

 

 

‘About my critics they do not know how Rape-aXe works, they criticize something they have never seen. You wear Rape-aXe out of your own free will.  The guy is tagged he knows if he harms his victim he will be in double trouble,’ Ms Ehlers told What’s Lekker.

 

Ms Ehlers said that on average, she receives between 4 000 and 5 000 remarks on her website daily. According to her, of these, only 0.01 percent are negative. She added that most of the comments, from both women and men are complementary where they let her know how ‘over the moon’ they are about the device and enquiring where they can purchase it and how they can become distributers.

 

According to Ms Ehlers, one would wear Rape-aXe if one –

 

She added that some jobs can also benefit in investing in such a device such as wardens and military women.

 

Ms Ehlers highlighted the fact that Rape-aXe is very comfortable and soft and that it cannot turn inside out while inserted. She added that it is also spring loaded to accommodate all sizes.

 

 

Ms Ehlers said that they would try keeping the price of the non-reusable device as low as possible. She said that she envisions that it should cost just a few cents more than the cost of a condom.

 

The device was initially called Rapex but the name was changed in 2006 because of patent issues. Rapex is a European Union warning system to member states and the commission against dangerous goods on the market which pose serious health and safety risks to consumers.

 

Meanwhile, the Health Department’s spokesperson, Popo Maja told What’s Lekker that the department was not in any way associated with the product.

 

Let us know what you think of the device, would you use it?