#undercovercolors

Featured above are two products recently invented, aimed to “empower” women in preventing sexual assault. 

A group of male students at North Carolina State University have founded the company “Undercover Colors” and invented a special type of nail varnish. It can detect the presence of date rape drugs when dipped into a drink. 

https://www.facebook.com/undercovercolors

Next, two women from New York founded “AR Wear” and released a new product: “anti-rape underwear”. It uses a specific design so that the fabric resists cutting and pulling. Because of this, only the person who is wearing them can remove them. 

Recently, a group of undergraduate students from North Carolina State University began developing a nail polish that will change color when dipped in a drink that has been laced with Rohypnol or GHP, drugs commonly used in date-rape situations. And while I thought, and still do, that this was a great idea and a way for some women to protect themselves from assault, it has faced criticism because of its attempt to get women to take action for their own safety, instead of encouraging people (and specifically men) not to rape.

But why not encourage both? We can do a lot to educate both men and women about consent and encourage them not to rape. But, in a world where one in six women are raped or are the victims of attempted rape (National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.), I won't be leaving my safety up to hopes that they've listened.

In a perfect world, it wouldn't be my job to safeguard myself against assault or abuse, but this isn't a perfect world. And while I can advocate for the encouragement and education of men and for the empowerment of women, that doesn't mean that perpetrators listen. Unless one is living under a rock these days, they've probably been told that rape is bad, not to rape, and undoubtedly know that they would like rape not to happen to them. Perpetrators aren't listening.There's court dockets full of cases in which they didn't, and thousands more shattered lives beyond the legal scope.

And while I'm not saying that wearing this nail polish, using that safety app, carrying a key-chain of pepper spray, or anything else would have prevented any victim's rape, I think that anything that can be used by women to empower themselves and to help with their own safety is a good thing. Even if it helps in one instance, it's one less victim.