Controversial anti-rape device

I'm not sure my use of the word 'device' here is accurate but 'controversial' certainly fits the bill. The 'Rape-aXe' was invented by South African doctor Sonnet Ehlers after he heard about a rape victim saying she wished she had had teeth "down there" when she was attacked.

The item can be inserted into the vagina like a tampon but has 'spikes' that face inwards so as not to harm the woman, instead causing incredible pain to any sex attacker who would be unable to remove the object from his penis without professional medical help.

While Doctor Ehlers is clearly responding to a need to help victims - reports claim as much as one in four South African men have admitted to rape - I do believe he is going about it the wrong way. The article I read about this issue said that 'critics' think the use of such a device could potential cause more danger for women if their attacker retaliates to his wounding.

But the other point worth mentioning is that this is hardly a preventative measure. The woman wearing this thing will still have been raped, it's just that she has got a little of her own back in the process. Now perhaps for some that is enough, but I doubt it would make most feel better in the long run, and it certainly wouldn't illiminate the trauma experienced in the aftermath. Perhaps also the attacker can then be turned over to the police by doctors identifying and removing the contraption but again, none of this has prevented the rape in the first place.

It is obviously a good thing that professionals with the ability to do something about this are trying to come up with ideas but the Rape-aXe is far from the answer, and it has to be said, women are not the only sex who can be violated in this way. A better solution for everyone needs to be found.