women responsible for preventing (punishing) rape?

I’ve been reading about this new “anti-rape female condom,”  the Rape Axe.  All I can think of to say so far is, what the fuck?

I understand that rape is an endemic problem that cannot be solved overnight, and that women need ways to protect themselves until (if?) we find ways to end sexual assault.   But how is this a solution?   This device says that rape-prevention becomes the responsibility of would-be victims.

At the most basic level, the Rape Axe doesn’t prevent rape – in order for it to “work” penetration must occur.  Now, let us say men know it exists – do we believe this will end rape?  Last I checked, oral sex and anal sex are also forms of sexual assault that are not prevented by this contraption.   And imagine the actions a rapist may take against a woman who is responsible for jagged hooks latching onto his penis?  Proponents say rapists are already violent – but I can’t but think that such a device might make them more so.

Advocates of the Rape Axe also suggest that the device will tag men, identifying them as rapists, bringing them pain and, potentially, punishment.   Yet I wonder how likely punishment is in a society that somehow produces the following:

• 1 in  4 men in South Africa said they’ve committed rape
• 46% said they had committed rape more than once
• many of these men said they didn’t see anything wrong with doing so

Activists South Africa working to end rape have spoken out against the Rape Axe.  I’m curious to hear more response from the women of South Africa, and what comes of this.  I cannot know what it is like to be a woman facing such bleak circumstances, but my visceral reaction to this device is one of disgust and contempt.  What are your thoughts?

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