Inventor of rape device prepares for launch
By Jenni Evans
A controversial device, which its inventor claims clamps itself to a rapist's penis forcing him to seek medical treatment and be revealed to the police, will be launched by a South African woman on Wednesday.
The "Rapex" device is inserted into the vagina by a woman who feels she is at risk of rape, and if she is attacked, small burr-like teeth will attach themselves to the tip of the rapist's erect penis, explained inventor Sonette Ehlers.
As he withdraws and becomes flaccid, it is only possible to remove the device by surgery, Ehlers said ahead of a launch and demonstration at Kleinmond near Cape Town.
'It will make the men think twice'
The surgeons would in turn alert the police on the same principle that bullet wounds need to be reported by doctors, and the rapist would be apprehended.
"It will make the men think twice," she told Sapa of the invention that grew from "filing away" passing comments over the years.
A client she was consulting when she was a blood cross-matcher for a transfusion service, remarked one day "if only I had teeth down there", she related.
And while on call in hospitals and privy to corridor talk, she overheard a surgeon joking about a man who had caught his penis in his trouser zip.
"I filed the teeth and the zip away (comments) in my mind and played around with it," she said.
'The device normalised rape'
After conducting research on rape, she eventually selected an engineer and a developer. Only identified as "Bert" and "Piet", they came up with the polyurethane device.
The product was tested on models of penises and vaginas and then given to women to test for comfort.
"A serial rapist just goes deeper into the ground, but now he cannot do that," she said.
The device is not yet in production but Ehlers hopes it will eventually be sold alongside condoms in chemists.
Monique Lanz, spokesperson for Johannesburg's Milpark Hospital, said: "We would have no idea what it was (if a person sought removal) and a person could spin us a story. There would have to be in-service training. And obviously the patient also has rights."
Lanz noted that it was also up to the woman seeking treatment at their rape crisis centre whether the rape was reported.
People Opposing Women Abuse spokesperson Carrie Shelver said the organisation did not support such devices but understood that they were developed in response to frustration people experienced.
She noted that many rapes were committed by people known to the victim and whether or not they could apply the device in those circumstances was "highly unlikely" because of the power imbalance in the relationship.
Shelver believed that more focus was needed on making the criminal justice system the effective barrier, which included better forensic evidence collection and prosecution. Use of the device could also leave the victim open to further interrogation during cross-examination in court.
"But most of these inventions don't come about in a vacuum - they come about by (people) who feel the system has failed them," she said.
Regarding a rapist's rights, Lawyers for Human Rights gender co-ordinator Tizeta Wodajo cautioned that if the matter involved a false accusation of rape, it could cause further damage to the man's name.
"But if there was no consent, in common law, the victim may use the same amount of force as the attacker, based on a reasonableness test."
Lisa Vetten from the Centre for Violence and Reconciliation said that "once again the responsibility for preventing rape was put on women" and that the device normalised rape.
Asked whether it was better than nothing, she said: "Why don't we all strap little shock devices onto men - wouldn't that help? But could you imagine the outcry?" - Sapa
:scared :scared
By Jenni Evans
A controversial device, which its inventor claims clamps itself to a rapist's penis forcing him to seek medical treatment and be revealed to the police, will be launched by a South African woman on Wednesday.
The "Rapex" device is inserted into the vagina by a woman who feels she is at risk of rape, and if she is attacked, small burr-like teeth will attach themselves to the tip of the rapist's erect penis, explained inventor Sonette Ehlers.
As he withdraws and becomes flaccid, it is only possible to remove the device by surgery, Ehlers said ahead of a launch and demonstration at Kleinmond near Cape Town.
'It will make the men think twice'
The surgeons would in turn alert the police on the same principle that bullet wounds need to be reported by doctors, and the rapist would be apprehended.
"It will make the men think twice," she told Sapa of the invention that grew from "filing away" passing comments over the years.
A client she was consulting when she was a blood cross-matcher for a transfusion service, remarked one day "if only I had teeth down there", she related.
And while on call in hospitals and privy to corridor talk, she overheard a surgeon joking about a man who had caught his penis in his trouser zip.
"I filed the teeth and the zip away (comments) in my mind and played around with it," she said.
'The device normalised rape'
After conducting research on rape, she eventually selected an engineer and a developer. Only identified as "Bert" and "Piet", they came up with the polyurethane device.
The product was tested on models of penises and vaginas and then given to women to test for comfort.
"A serial rapist just goes deeper into the ground, but now he cannot do that," she said.
The device is not yet in production but Ehlers hopes it will eventually be sold alongside condoms in chemists.
Monique Lanz, spokesperson for Johannesburg's Milpark Hospital, said: "We would have no idea what it was (if a person sought removal) and a person could spin us a story. There would have to be in-service training. And obviously the patient also has rights."
Lanz noted that it was also up to the woman seeking treatment at their rape crisis centre whether the rape was reported.
People Opposing Women Abuse spokesperson Carrie Shelver said the organisation did not support such devices but understood that they were developed in response to frustration people experienced.
She noted that many rapes were committed by people known to the victim and whether or not they could apply the device in those circumstances was "highly unlikely" because of the power imbalance in the relationship.
Shelver believed that more focus was needed on making the criminal justice system the effective barrier, which included better forensic evidence collection and prosecution. Use of the device could also leave the victim open to further interrogation during cross-examination in court.
"But most of these inventions don't come about in a vacuum - they come about by (people) who feel the system has failed them," she said.
Regarding a rapist's rights, Lawyers for Human Rights gender co-ordinator Tizeta Wodajo cautioned that if the matter involved a false accusation of rape, it could cause further damage to the man's name.
"But if there was no consent, in common law, the victim may use the same amount of force as the attacker, based on a reasonableness test."
Lisa Vetten from the Centre for Violence and Reconciliation said that "once again the responsibility for preventing rape was put on women" and that the device normalised rape.
Asked whether it was better than nothing, she said: "Why don't we all strap little shock devices onto men - wouldn't that help? But could you imagine the outcry?" - Sapa
:scared :scared
