South Africa has a serious rape problem. In 2009 the South African Medical Research Council found that 28% of men surveyed had raped a woman or girl and got away with it scot-free. Over half the rapists admitted to molesting more than one woman.
I will never forget an interview I once watched on TV. A young gay woman described what it was like to live in South Africa – the constant fear of retribution by men who feel slighted by her lifestyle. Apparently straight men feel it is their right to rape lesbians as often as they please – according to them it reinstates the natural order of things.
However it is not just gay women who get raped – it is every woman and girl in the country who is at risk. In 2006 there were almost 55,000 rape reports in the country; an estimated 450,000 rapes remain unreported. This means that on average approximately 1300 women can be expected to be raped a day in South Africa – one woman every 17 seconds.
Stories of violence against women make me sick, so when I read about Dr. Sonnet Ehlers and her rape condoms I could not help but sympathise. Women who fear that they may be sexually abused can insert the anti-rape latex condom like a tampon. The rubber sheath contains jagged rows of teeth-like hooks that attach on a man's penis during penetration.
The rapist would have no choice other than to go to a doctor to remove the contraption because with it stuck to him he would not be able to pee. Physicians who get such patients would obviously realise that something is amiss and they would be able to alert the authorities that a potential rapist has sought medical attention.
I have to admit that the plan has got several holes in it. It is based on the premise that a woman would be wearing it when someone tries to rape her. It also does not take into consideration the reaction of the rapist when his penis gets caught in a vice-like hold.
However I suppose that when one lives in constant fear one needs to fight back, in whichever way possible. If the only manner a woman can stick up for herself is to turn her vagina into a pit of knives, then the shame is not on her, but on the society that turns a blind eye at the abuse.