Condoms can protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases – but what about rape? According to CBS News, a South African doctor has developed Rape-aXe, a new anti-rape female condom.

The rape-aXe condom features rows of jagged hooks designed to attach to a man’s penis during penetration. Once attached, the condom can only be removed by a doctor – hopefully when authorities can arrest him, Dr. Sonnet Ehlers, the condom’s designer, told CNN. ”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 plans to hand out 30,000 free devices in cities hosting World Cup games. Afterward, they’ll be sold for $2 each.

Critics of rape-aXe say the condom would make women vulnerable to violence from men trapped by the device. It’s also a form of “enslavement,” Victoria Kajja, a fellow for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 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.”

In addition, the condom ignores the mental aspects of rape. ”It not only presents the victim with a false sense of security, but psychological trauma,” Kajja said. “It also does not help with the psychological problems that manifest after assaults.”

Although Ehlers visited prisons and says that some men admitted this device would make them rethink their actions, could you image being around a rapist – an already violent person – who was stuck in this device?

What do you guys think? Is rape-aXe a good idea?

Photo: antirape.co.za