Are Anti-Rape Wears The Right Answer To Rising Rape Cases Worldwide?

Do you remember the time when politicians blamed women for rape? One of them said that women wearing rugged or torn jeans are responsible for their sexual assault as they are asking for it. Another said that women who eat chowmein are susceptible to rape. While another said that women often name four men for their rape when only one man did it to "settle scores." So, what do we understand from these insensitive statements? The rising rape culture in our society that holds women responsible for their rape.

To make the situation worse, leading brands have come up with 'anti-rape wear' for women. There are two such inventions - one by AR Wear, a New York-based start-up, that created anti-rape underwear for women. The underwear contains an elastic that can neither be cut nor torn and can be removed only by the woman wearing it. In fact, the underwear is a 'lockable' wear that locks the vaginas of women. 

Another is a tampon-like wear that has razor-sharp barbs. Women can wear this around the labia which will prevent the perpetrator from penetrating them as he would be busy freeing himself from the rape-aXe. Meanwhile, women can get time to run away. This has been developed by Sonette Ehlers, a South African doctor. 

The reactions to the antirape wears

While both inventions had mixed responses as some considered them as a means of self-defence for women until rape culture ends while others criticised them as just another way to propagate the idea of holding women responsible for rape.

It cannot be ignored that anti-rape instruments are not the answer to the increasing rape incidents in society. It is just a part of the cultural industry that benefits from the deprivation of people, women specifically, turning them into consumers and themselves into capitalists. In other words, these products make money out of the problems women face by brainwashing them into believing that they can actually protect themselves and hence be empowered. 

The rate of rape cases in India

Let me break this argument further. A total of 31,516 rape cases were recorded in 2022 in India, according to the latest NCRB reports. Moreover, according to NFHS's latest report, more than 90 per cent of rape cases are never reported. Women who face crimes like rape and sexual assault are not aware of them beforehand. Especially, the fact that most rape is committed by people who are known to women makes the difference between perpetrator and saviour blurred. 

So how can these inventions assume that women are always aware of the crime that they might be subjected to in the next few minutes? Do these brands want women to wear their products 24x7? Doesn't it then seem like these brands are just trying to sell their products by misusing the destitutions of women? 

The impact of anti-rape wears on women

Will women be really comfortable in those 'anti-rape' wears? No matter how many claims the brands make about comfort, wouldn't wear such brands all the time- even at home- make women feel even more unsafe, just like a knight who has to carry his weapon while being on the battleground? Won't these products make women feel as if their entire reality is a battleground? What if a woman forgets to wear these anti-rape wears? Will she become responsible for the sexual assault and rape as she didn't wear her so-called bulletproof jacket? 

And, how many women can afford such products? Very minimal, as far as India is concerned where deprivation is still one of the prominent issues.  

Moreover, these anti-rape inventions are focused only on women, more specifically slim women (see the advertisement of the anti-rape underwear). They have conveniently ignored the fact that men, children, trans people and so-called fat women too get raped. What is the anti-rape wear for these people? 

The alternative and the right way to decrease rape

It is necessary in today's world for women to be alert and know self-defence. Until the rapists roam around openly and fearlessly, women have to guard themselves. But wait...why aren't we targeting the rapists who are out in the open with no restrictions, no self-defence, no ant-rape wear and no fear? Don't they too deserve to be "locked" just like brands are locking women's vaginas? 

The focus of protecting women from gendered crimes should be on restricting and penalising men who commit the crimes. In fact, every gender must be taught about the rights and wrongs of sex- which in simple terms is called sex education (although not so simple as in our society). The importance of consent should be taught, the consequences of enforcement of any kind must be demonstrated and the sensitisation about the plight of people who face crimes should also be inculcated.

The legal angle of dealing with rape cases

Apart from this, the law against rape should be made gender-neutral and stringent. The proceedings of rape cases should speed up rather than keep them as backlogs. The frequency of providing bail to rapists must stop. Women must be aware of their legal rights and must not face social criticism and victim-blaming for filing a case against rape.

Despite the existence of rape laws, the conviction rate in India is still low. When are we going to focus on these issues? Rather than preparing or even pushing women out of their original comfort and asking them to accept the reality of being perpetual prey which ultimately affects their psychology, let's make harder laws for rapists and teach men better?