What women do not want..

Blogadda is running a contest on “What women want?”..I am not really sure of what women want.To each its own..But when I read the below piece of news,I am pretty much sure of ‘What women do not want?”

Female condom with ‘teeth’

by Kate Townshend

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Here’s a really interesting story from CNN about the release of a new ‘spiked female condom’ designed to protect women against rape and punish the would be perpetrators. South African doctor Sonnet Ehlers is distributing 30,000 of the new devices around South African cities where world cup matches are taking place, under supervision as part of a trial period.

The condom is inserted like a tampon, and should  penetration  take place, rows of tiny, jagged teeth like hooks attach onto the man’s penis. Although these do not break the skin, it then becomes impossible for him to remove without medical help, and any attempts to do so only make the device grip on more tightly.

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Unsurprisingly the device is causing massive amounts of controversy. Critics argue that since women have to wear it any time they think they may be in danger, it exaggerates the likelihood of rape and keeps women in a state of constant fear. Equally, there are potential risks in terms of what else a thwarted and angry rapist may try to do.

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I think its easy for us in the West to dismiss such a device as medieval and barbaric, but South Africa has one of the highest rape rates in the world, coupled with one of the lowest conviction rates. This article suggests that women are already taking extreme measures to put off would be assailants, including inserting razor blades into their private parts. Whether this is the answer or not (and I’m dubious personally) clearly something needs to be done to protect women in the country.

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What was that? 😳 😕

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Before we jump into conclusions,read below..

By 2006 the official figure for rape was over 55 000 ,

unofficially, based on the premise put forward by the National Institute of Crime Rehabilitation that only one in twenty rapes are reported, the figure is over 494,000 a year. This means that on average approximately one thousand three hundred women can be expected to be raped a day in South Africa. A study by Interpol, the international police agency, has revealed that South Africa leads the world in rapes. A woman was raped in South Africa every 17 seconds. This did not include the number of child rape victims. It was estimated that one in every two women would be raped. Between 28 and 30 percent of adolescents reported that their first sexual encounter was forced. Of South African men who knew somebody who had been raped, 16 percent believed that the rape survivor had enjoyed the experience and had asked for it. According to a recent study police estimated that only one in 36 rape cases was reported and of those only 15percent culminated in a conviction.[……….]

But…Is that how we deal with assulats against women? Are all women in this planet expected to wear this,in fear of being raped at any point of time? Many or most of us would love to live in denial that “Hey,this can’t happen to me”. But are we to spent our life in constant fear and ‘ready to attack mode’ 24/7? I don’t know..This news sickens me..Agreed that manyof the victims probably would wish they had had a device like this at the time of their rape, and any man who has been through this, even if not convicted of rape, would think twice before raping another victim .But still..doesn’t it take away the responsibility from men,to women?And it seems to me that it may induce a higher level of violence on the part of the attacker.  Psychological trauma24/7…Baaah… 😳

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The only welcoming strip of news is what the Doctor herself said

“Yes, my device may be medieval, but it’s for a medieval deed that has been around for decades,” she told CNN. “I believe something’s got to be done … and this will make some men rethink before they assault a woman.“[…]

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There are a lot of things that make this not work, but it is welcoming that people are addressing the problem, looking for a solution, and thinking out of the box.This may help to sent away the message that women are not always helpless.Women are indeed in sad state of affairs…Razors inside private parts..Teeth arms inside private parts..  **sigh**

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Though not about ‘What women want’,I nominate my post to

Contest by:

Blogadda and Pringoo

• http://blog.blogadda.com/2010/06/23/what-women-want-indian-bloggers-share
• http://www.pringoo.com/

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South African doctor invents female condoms with ‘teeth’ to fight rape

(CNN) — South African Dr. Sonnet Ehlers was on call one night four decades ago when a devastated rape victim walked in. Her eyes were lifeless; she was like a breathing corpse.

“She looked at me and said, ‘If only I had teeth down there,'” recalled Ehlers, who was a 20-year-old medical researcher at the time. “I promised her I’d do something to help people like her one day.”

Forty years later, Rape-aXe was born.

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Ehlers is distributing the female condoms in the various South African cities where the World Cup soccer games are taking place.

The woman inserts the latex condom like a tampon. Jagged rows of teeth-like hooks line its inside and attach on a man’s penis during penetration, Ehlers said.

Once it lodges, only a doctor can remove it — a procedure Ehlers hopes will be done with authorities on standby to make an arrest.

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“It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it’s on,” she said. “If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter… however, it doesn’t break the skin, and there’s no danger of fluid exposure.”

Ehlers said she sold her house and car to launch the project, and she planned to distribute 30,000 free devices under supervision during the World Cup period.

“I consulted engineers, gynecologists and psychologists to help in the design and make sure it was safe,” she said.After the trial period, they’ll be available for about $2 a piece. She hopes the women will report back to her.

“The ideal situation would be for a woman to wear this when she’s going out on some kind of blind date … or to an area she’s not comfortable with,” she said.

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The mother of two daughters said she visited prisons and talked to convicted rapists to find out whether such a device would have made them rethink their actions.Some said it would have, Ehlers said.

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Critics say the female condom is not a long-term solution and makes women vulnerable to more violence from men trapped by the device.

It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it’s on. If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter.

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It’s also a form of “enslavement,” said Victoria Kajja, a fellow for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the east African country of Uganda. “The fears surrounding the victim, the act of wearing the condom in anticipation of being assaulted all represent enslavement that no woman should be subjected to.”

Kajja said the device constantly reminds women of their vulnerability.

“It not only presents the victim with a false sense of security, but psychological trauma,” she added. “It also does not help with the psychological problems that manifest after assaults.”

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However, its one advantage is it allows justice to be served, she said.

Various rights organizations that work in South Africa declined to comment, including Human Rights Watch and Care International.

South Africa has one of the highest rape rates in the world, Human Rights Watch says on its website. A 2009 report by the nation’s Medical Research Council found that 28 percent of men surveyed had raped a woman or girl, with one in 20 saying they had raped in the past year, according to Human Rights Watch..

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In most African countries, rape convictions are not common. Affected women don’t get immediate access to medical care, and DNA tests to provide evidence are unaffordable.

“Women and girls who experience these violations are denied justice, factors that contribute to the normalization of rape and violence in South African society,” Human Rights Watch says.

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Women take drastic measures to prevent rape in South Africa, Ehlers said, with some wearing extra tight biker shorts and others inserting razor blades wrapped in sponges in their private parts.

Critics have accused her of developing a medieval device to fight rape.

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“Yes, my device may be a medieval, but it’s for a medieval deed that has been around for decades,” she said. “I believe something’s got to be done … and this will make some men rethink before they assault a woman.”

2010

06/28

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