Rape Prevention: Engineers Create Underwear That Shocks Attackers
How did violence against women get to this point?
Imagine living your life in fear; Imagine a world so plagued by violence you have to go to extremes to protect yourself. Unfortunately for the women of India as well as tourists, this is a harsh reality.
What began with the rape and murder of a young woman in December in New Delhi has turned into what seems like an all-out war on women. Since that initial attack two women, one a university student, the other a Swiss tourist, have been publicly gang raped. Several others have come forward claiming they had to go to extreme measures to avoid being sexually assaulted; one woman reported that she was forced to jump out of her hotel window in Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, to avoid being attacked.
Thousands of angry citizens are speaking out and demanding safety for women as well as harsher laws as a deterrent for potential perpetrators of such acts of violence.
In the meantime, three engineering students have decided to take matters into their own hands, creating a pair of anti-rape underwear.
Yes, you read that right. These high tech undergarments, which the students titled Society Harnessing Equipment, or SHE, are designed to stop sexual offenders in two ways: "The lingerie with global positioning system, global system for mobile communications and also pressure sensors is capable of sending shock waves of 3,800 kV as well as alerts to parents and police," Manisha Mohan, one of the creators, told the New York Daily News. "A person trying to molest a girl will get the shock of his life the moment pressure sensors get activated, and the GPS and GSM modules would send an SMS (to the Indian emergency number) as well as to parents of the girl."
SHE is still in the early stages of production; as of now, only a prototype has been created, however it's creators are hoping to begin commercial production later this month.
While we applaud the efforts and ingenuity of the students who created this device to protect women, we find it ridiculous that violent crime against women has come to this; No woman should have to live life in fear that she may be attacked at any moment. No woman should have to wear underwear capable of delivering a debilitating shock and contacting authorities.
In all of this we are left to wonder where Indian government officials stand on this issue and what it will take for them to step in to protect their citizens.
What do you think about this new invention?
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