(Trigger warning: discussion of rape and aftermath)

Chalk another one up on the list of sf-nal gadgets that have graduated from printed page to reality… but at the same time deplore the need for it, because the gadget in question is something like the dentata anti-rape device featured in Neal Stephenson’s cyberpunk classic Snow Crash. The bluntly-named Rape-aXe is…

… a latex sheath, which contains razor-sharp barbs. The device is worn in her vagina like a tampon. When the attacker attempts vaginal penetration the barbs attach themselves to the penis, causing great discomfort. The device must be surgically removed, which will result in the positive identification of the attacker and subsequent arrest.

South Africa has the highest incidence of reported cases of rape in the world (according to the US Dept. of State), and the Rape-aXe’s inventor would like to see the device distributed widely around the country before the World Cup kicks off [via grinding.be]… but, as is inevitable with technologies related to such a controversial and destructive crime, opinions differ wildly as to its worth.