A recent poll conducted by South Africa’s Medical Research Council reports that 28 percent of South African men surveyed admitted to having raped one or more women in their lifetime.
Furthermore, it’s estimated that 500,000 rapes are committed annually in South Africa, and the likelihood of a young woman being sexually assaulted is far greater than her learning how to read.
In an effort to reduce these high statistics, Dr. Sonnet Ehler of South Africa invented Rape-Axe. Rape-Axe is a female condom outfitted with shafts of sharp, inward-facing blades called “teeth”.
The Rape-Axe is inserted like a tampon. But upon penetration, the “teeth” latch onto the attacker’s skin, creating immense pain, discomfort and, in many cases, the inability to walk or urinate.
The temporary incapacitation, which can only be reversed by a doctor, allows the victim an unprecedented opportunity to escape.
A primary concern for some women is the notion that the condom could become attached to the female’s skin. On Dr. Ehler’s website for the Rape-Axe, she dispels that idea by explaining that the design of the condom prevents it from turning inside out.
With the World Cup currently taking place in South Africa, Dr. Ehlers plans to distribute 30,000 units of the condom at FIFA arenas.
After that, she will sell them for $2 each.
Dr. Ehler’s inspiration for the Rape-Axe came from a patient who had recently been assaulted.
“If I only had teeth down there,” the young woman suggested.