It seems as if everyone is talking about the anti-rape condom in South Africa, which was actually introduced a couple of years ago. What bothers me about this is not how late it’s making the news rounds, but how it’s being hailed as a rape preventative device when, in fact, it’s not. It doesn’t prevent rape from occurring; it only makes it very painful for the attacker.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m in favor of punishing attackers and making them wary of rape just in case a woman is wearing one of these teeth-filled devices—but women shouldn’t have to do a damn thing to prevent rape. Rapists should. Women should not have to alter their lives in order to not be raped; we should instead live in a world where such attacks do not occur in the first place.
