Rape is a tremendous problem around the world, especially in South Africa, where the rate of forcible rape is the highest in the world.

Studies done by the National Institute of Criminal Rehabilitation reported that nearly 500,000 rapes occur in South Africa each year. They speculated that a woman is raped every 17 seconds.

It’s every two minutes in the U.S., but either way the thought is still daunting.

In an effort to combat the staggering number of sexual assaults in South Africa, one physician, Dr. Sonnet Ehlers has created an anti-rape condom. Rape-aXe is worn internally by the woman similar to how she would wear a tampon. The condom has tiny blades on its inside which latch onto a man’s penis as he tries to force penetration. The device is extremely painful to the man and must be surgically removed by a doctor. The more the assailant tries to remove it, the tighter it latches on and the more pain he will experience. The potential rapist is also unable to walk or urinate while it is engaged, forcing him to seek medical help, and likely, arrest as well.

To some, it sounds extreme, and Dr. Ehlers has received much criticism for the invention. The main arguments against Rape-aXe are that it gives women a false sense of security and more seriously, once a rapist is in pain and realizes he has been branded by the product, it might increase the likelihood that he will murder the woman.

Dr. Ehlers is confident that the latter will not happen. Because the man is forced to seek immediate medical help, he is already going to get arrested for rape. Killing the woman will only increase his sentence. In addition, because the pain is so horrific, a woman should have an opportunity to escape.

Many people are calling the invention “medieval, a modern-day chastity belt.”

Dr. Ehlers welcomes the criticism and believes her product will do much more help than harm, and that women in South Africa are already feeling safer and more empowered.

While the device is used as a protection against a horrific crime in South Africa, consider the idea of using something slightly modified in the United States to enforce chastity?

Would it not beneficial to have young women everywhere wearing this type of device? This would not only prevent rape, but simultaneously combat the ever-increasing rates of HIV/AIDS, STDs, and teen pregnancy. What if all teens wore some sort of “chastity belt” until they reach a responsible age, voted on by the nation?

It may seem a little as if this is stepping on the toes of free-will here, but let’s take this into consideration: You can’t drive, or get a job at most places until 16. Not until 18 are you allowed to vote, buy cigarettes, or go to war for your country. At 21, you are given the right to drink alcohol.

And you can’t even rent a car, at most places, until you are 25.

But technically, you can have a child; bring another life into this world; have total control over another human being at age 11.

Does that sound ludicrous to anyone else but me?

You don’t need your parent’s permission to have a child with your boyfriend, but you do need their permission to marry him. Honestly, it’s laughable, because it’s insane.

We have stricter regulations on the things that don’t matter nearly as much. Why is there no “responsible age” for having sex and raising a child, when restrictions could be key in eliminating teen pregnancy, and hopefully over time, decrease the transmission of STDs, and HIV/AIDS?