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A pair of rape-resistant shorts from AR Wear. The shorts lock at the waistband are created with material that can’t easily be cut or ripped.
New rape-resistant underwear, yoga pants and shorts promise to keep women safe and unwanted sex predators at bay.
The garments work by creating a barrier that even the most determined rapists can’t break, rip or cut, “so that women and girls can have more power to control the outcome of a sexual assault,” according to AR Wear’s Indiegogo campaign, launched to raise funds to produce the line.
But will they really work?
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www.indiegogo.com
A pair of scissors can’t even cut through the garments’ straps.
The Telegraph blasted the idea of anti-rape wear as “wrong on so many levels,” and The Washington Post questioned if it’s anti-feminist. Commenters voiced doubts that a pair of sturdy underwear will be much help in the event of an attack, but the designers swear the garments work.
Known only as Ruth and Yuval (they declined to release their last names), the Nyack, N.Y., women said they designed the products to be worn in potentially dangerous situations — while clubbing, out on a first date, running alone at night or traveling abroad, for example.
They cite studies that prove resisting rape increases a woman’s chance of escape, and say their anti-rape shorts, underwear and pants do just that.
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www.indiegogo.com
Will this underwear save you from rape? That’s what two New York designers say. They recently raised more than $ 50,000 to fund the line.
Cut-resistant straps and webbing create an “innovative skeletal structure” that the wearer locks at the waistband, so they can’t be pulled down or pushed aside.
But the designers insist the garments are comfortable and easy to get off — wearers can release the hold by turning a tiny lock to a designated clock position.
Despite criticism, there’s clearly interest.
Ruth and Yuval have raised more than $ 52,000 on Indiegogo — enough to start producing their line. They expect the pieces to sell between $ 50 and $ 60 online and are experimenting with plus-size and men’s lines.
