Rape prevention must focus on education

The Editorial Board engaged in a healthy discussion in regards to the incipience of a whole new industry: rape prevention technology. Young engineers around the country are throwing their hats into the ring with creative inventions like Undercover Colors’ nail polish, which changes color when directly exposed to dissolved rohypnol (“roofies”), and LifeShel’s phone case, which has a panic button that can generate an alarm at decibel levels you would never find outside of a rock concert. These inventions are undeniably arresting — and dare we say it, pretty cool. Exciting technology along these lines generates awareness and sparks conversation about this sensitive issue. Publicity is certainly not detrimental to this cause; yet, the Editorial Board believes that the newfound attention has the potential to bring along its own set of complications.

The advent of this technology has the potential to increase victim blaming, whereby victims are expected to have taken measures to prevent attacks. We would revulse to see survivors pressed on why they weren’t carrying these products, much in the same disappointing manner as when they are too often asked what kind of clothes they were wearing — as if to imply that their outfits precipitated the attack. A sexual assault survivor’s credibility should not face even the slightest challenge based on whether or not he or she had the latest anti-rape gizmo on their person at the time of the attack. All responsibility for the attack should reside squarely upon the shoulders of the offender.

We also express concern that these new technologies could further engender the misguided stereotype that most sexual assailants are strangers; according to the U.S. Department of Justice, two-thirds of assailants are someone that the victim knows, and 38 percent of rapists are friends or acquaintances of their victims.

Furthermore, the Editorial Board believes that these inventions, though well intentioned, can detract attention from addressing the roots of this social problem. Preventing attacks in the heat of the moment is valuable — don’t get us wrong. However, real change can only come by reducing the frequency of these attacks in the first place. We hope that the focus shifts to anti-rape campaigns that educate and address the root causes of rape, rather than those that maintain any invocations that responsibility rests with the victims.

While these advances in rape prevention technology do a service by generating publicity and pursuing an innovative approach to combating rape, what is truly crucial is more education. Campaigns that discuss the meaning of consent, outline methods of bystander intervention and promote healthy relationships will ultimately be the most effective ways to combat the pervasive rape culture that produces a need for these inventions in the first place.