AR Wear (Anti-Rape Wear) has started a campaign to produce shorts that will protect women when they are “going out on a blind date, taking an evening run, “clubbing”, traveling in unfamiliar countries, and any other activity that might make one anxious about the possibility of an assault.” Through a series of locks and tear and cut proof material, the company wants to empower women and protect them for when “things go wrong.”
I do not doubt that the creators have the best intentions at heart. They want to help protect women from rape, who doesn’t? Yet these shorts ignore some fundamental things about rape. For starters, more often than not the assaulter tends to be someone the victim knew. Additionally, the company is propagating the idea that the victim should be aware of what she wears in order to prevent rape. Lastly, the company assumed that rape only occurs when there is sexual intercourse, when rape can also take the form of verbal abuse or fellatio.
But more than that there are some technical issues. Like what if I can’t open the locks or the lock system breaks and I really need to use the bathroom? Or if the assailant is in my house, does that mean I should wear my anti-rape shorts at all times?
The main reason that this new line is suffering from so much backlash is that this is an attempt to cover up an issue rather than solve it. It does not really attack the problem of rape at its source, but, rather, it attempts to create another barrier to make assault hard. I’m not saying that these shorts have no benefits, but I do think we need to reevaluate our views of rape if we think a chastity belt will solve all the problems.