Pants that prevent rape – really?
I suppose that the two women who started this company have their hearts in the right place but really, anti-rape pants? Yes, I know that wearing the modern equivalent of a chastity belt might seem like a good idea but what on earth does it say about society?
We’ve all heard the old excuse ‘well, she was wearing a very short skirt and a low cut blouse so she was asking for it’. So now will we get ‘well, she wasn’t wearing anti-rape pants so she must have been up for it.’?
These garments have a lock on the top and are made from fabric that can’t be torn or cut. So when I called them the modern equivalent of chastity belts I wasn’t kidding.
You see, it seems that the onus is on women. It is women who need to wear these ludicrous garments. Why should we have to spend money to protect ourselves from rape? Shouldn’t it be men who have their bits locked away?
The implication given by these garments is that rape is something that happens on dark streets or deserted areas and that evil strangers are lurking in the shadows ready to attack. And yet most women who are sexually assaulted know their attackers, the stranger-on-a-dark-street scenario is really pretty unusual.
And really, what’s the difference between these garments and tight jeans? I have a hard time with my own tight jeans and no-one could rip them off me. But if I had a knife at my throat, that’s a different matter.
That’s the problem with anti-rape pants, surely? Obviously, the wearer can undo them and remove them. So with a gun at her head…
You can see more in the video below:
- The video starts with a question. “Have you ever been out walking at night wishing you could feel safer?” Actually, no. I like to think that I have a little more sense than to walk in dangerous areas at night
- It goes on to say that they want the product to make girls feel safer when they are out on a first date, clubbing, going running in the evenings or travelling abroad. First dates are scary? And as for travel – ah, foreigners are rapists, you see
- It claims that ‘studies show that resisting sexual assault lessens the chance of rape taking place.’ Did we really need studies to tell us that?
- Note that the video says that the pants are difficult to remove by a stranger. They do not say ‘impossible’
You’ll see that these are recommended for girls who go nightclubbing who might get falling-over drunk or are affected by drugs. What about women in wheelchairs or those who are otherwise disabled? And what about young girls? We need to remember too that men and boys get raped. Is the answer really for us all to lock away our genitals? In this day and age?
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