Moldy Peaches

Rape, incest and AIDS are rampant problems in South Africa so it makes sense that someone there would take the unprecedented step of inventing an anti-rape contraption. On Wednesday, Sonette Ehlers, a South African inventor, did exactly that and introduced a new anti-rape female condom that hooks onto an attacker's penis and aims to cut one of the highest rates of sexual assault in the world.

Ehlers unveiled the product in a small village east of Cape Town and said that nothing has ever been done to help a woman so that she does not get raped and she thought it was high time.

The device is worn like a tampon that has sparked controversy in a country used to daily reports of violent crime. Police statistics show more than 50,000 rapes are reported every year, while experts say the real figure could be four times that as they say most rapes of acquaintances or children are never reported.

Ehlers said the "rapex" hooks onto the rapist's skin, allowing the victim time to escape and helping to identify perpetrators.

The device, made of latex and held firm by shafts of sharp barbs, can only be removed from the man through surgery which will alert hospital staff, and ultimately, the police. It also reduces the chances of a woman falling pregnant or contracting AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases from the attacker by acting in the same way as a female condom.

South Africa has more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country, with one in nine of its 45 million population infected. Rather than preach to these countries about abstinence only policies, like the Bush administration and various religious groups including Congress are, it is refreshing to see innovation taking shape.

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