Vaginal bear trap protects women against rape

The anti-rape female condom (aka vaginal bear trap) was invented by Sonette Ehlers, a South African woman. It is intended to prevent rape by hooking onto an attacker's penis, hurting and disabling him.

The device is a latex tube fitted internally with shafts of sharp, inward-facing plastic barbs that could be worn by a woman in her vagina, similar to a tampon. Should an attacker attempt vaginal rape, the penis would be hooked by the barbs, causing the attacker pain and giving the victim time to escape. The condom would remain attached to the attacker's penis and, according to the device's creator, could be removed only surgically, which would alert hospital staff and police that an attempted rape could have taken place.

Furthermore, the device's inventor believes that the very existence of the device in over-the-counter stores could also act as a deterrent by creating the possibility in a potential rapist's mind that victims might be using it. However, the fact that a man was injured by the device would not in and of itself mean he was a rapist, due to the possibility of abuse of the device.

The device has been severely criticized by many men and women alike, including anti-rape activists, former rape victims, and members of the media. Critics, women included, have objected to Ehler's invention as "mediaeval" and "vengeful, horrible, and disgusting" and oppose its planned sale in drugstores. Still others describe the device as "barbaric".

Since the wearer of the condom exhibits no visible signals that she is using the condom, there is no visible deterrence for a prospective attacker. Furthermore, the fact that men would not be able to tell that women are wearing the device has led to concerns that it could be worn for consensual sex as part of a malicious act of revenge, to frame an innocent man as a rapist, or as a form of outright sadistic cruelty. Ehlers' only response to these critisms is to say that "Of course it is possible, as everything can be abused. But there will be legal consequences." The likelihood of a court believing an innocent man who was injured or framed by a device marketed to stop rapes has not been established.