Vagina dentata

The rape victim's revenge: a Femidom with teeth.*I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.

Problem the first: it doesn't actually prevent the foul deed occurring, it just causes pain for the perpetrator. If you can convince him that pain will ensue, okay, but I'm not sure of that. So I agree with the concern that it might just trigger a more brutal attack from the now really pissed off attacker.

Problem the second: what women need is to be free of the fear of attack. That fear will not be ended by the knowledge that ooh, but if he DID, he'd be sorry. And in SA, I can't imagine that the knowledge of this device would spread to the extent that potential rapists would be scared off even thinking of such a thing.

Problem the third: cost. R1 may be nothing to middle class women, but as the inventor herself points out, middle class women are not the ones most in danger. The article doesn't say whether this is a washable/reusable item, or a disposable one, but I strongly suspect it's the latter. So do you spend R1 a day - R30 a month - on this uncertain protection, when your monthly income may be only R800 and you have a family to support?

But none of that explains why I hate it.

When I was a (very far from promiscuous) student, I was in the habit of carrying a condom in my wallet at all times. I did so whether or not I was in a relationship. My reasons were complicated: I would have said at the time that it was my responsibility to be prepared, even if I wasn't planning any escapades, because who knew what might happen; I would have said, also, that living in SA, my chances of being attacked were terrifyingly high and I wanted to at least have a chance of protecting myself from HIV infection if that did happen.

I'm sure that sounds bizarre to non-Saffer readers. I must point out that first, SA women are bombarded with stats on the high incidence of rape (one every 8 seconds, was it?), and second, it really is possible (sometimes) to convince your rapist to wear a condom, because he's as scared of Aids as you are (and probably hasn't a clue whether he himself is already infected).

It is still bizarre, though. Obviously. In hindsight I think my condom-carrying habit was a rather silly gesture based on the idea that I should be a liberated and responsible sexually active woman. Even if I wasn't all that active.

But the thing is: it was an empty gesture with little connection to, well, anything. As high as the rape stats are, they're skewed by the fact that if you're a woman (or girl) in the townships, you're pretty certain to be attacked. It's not so likely in the suburbs. (Well, it's a lot likelier than in a nice Sussex town, but still.) The more distance I have from that state of mind, the more revolted I am that planning for a possible rape even featured in my thinking. It's good to be careful, of course, not to put yourself in dangerous situations and so on, but really. It's deeply unhealthy to be constantly thinking in those terms. Isn't it?

And so, even knowing the dangers that South African women face, I truly hate the idea that they are being invited to prepare themselves, every day, in such an intimate way, to be raped. It's not empowering. It's not protective. It's sick. And I hate it.

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* Link courtesy of strawbs.