Date Rape Nail polish: an effective assault prevention

September 18, 2014 — by Nidhi Jain and Rachel Zhang

Four male undergraduates from North Carolina State University have created a nail polish line that aims to allow women to report men's ulterior motives. Their nail polish line, called Undercover Colors, changes color when it comes in contact with one of the three most common date-rape drugs: Xanax, Rohypnol, GHB, in addition to other unnamed ones.

We’ve all heard the fairy tale: cheerfully skipping through the dark forest, a young girl in a crimson hood is suddenly stopped by a seemingly genial wolf. This wolf gives off the impression of an amiable stranger, when in actuality, he intends to make a meal out of her.   

Although this traditional tale may seem frivolous, it mirrors modern society.

Replace Little Red Riding Hood with an ordinary woman at a bar, and the “big bad wolf” with a man attempting to spike the woman’s beverage, and you have a situation that occurs on a daily basis in colleges across the nation.

But what if the young woman could somehow discern the man’s ulterior motives? What if she could know, and then take steps to avoid him or even report him?

Four male undergraduates from North Carolina State University have created a nail polish line that aims to allow women to do so. Their nail polish line, called Undercover Colors, changes color when it comes in contact with one of the three most common date-rape drugs: Xanax, Rohypnol, GHB, in addition to other unnamed ones.

Now with this new innovative product at hand, a woman will be able to detect whether her beverage has been spiked by a simple swash of her fingers in it.

Considering that many rapes on college campuses occur after rapists drug their victims, early detection of the dangerous substance has the potential to decrease the number of date-rapes.

Similar to most controversial products publicized online, the idea has wrongly received much backlash since its release.

“Undercover Colors implies that [sexual assault is] the woman’s fault and assumes responsibility on her behalf, and detracts from the real issues that arise from sexual violence,” rape counselor Katie Russell told Newsweek.

Although Russell says that the nail polish wrongfully implies that women should protect themselves instead of encouraging rapists to change their ways, this nail polish allows women to be independent.

With this new product, women are no longer defenseless. Along with rape whistles and pepper spray that are now standard essentials for a girl going to college, this nail polish acts as an additional and effective solution.

Applying nail polish not only requires just a few minutes, but is also already part of many girls’ daily routines. With this quick and easy application, this ensures that any time girls attend a party, where drugs may be present, they will be safe.

Instead of praising this product’s potential, these feminists are wrongly condemning this “protective measure as blaming the victim,” according to the Los Angeles Times.  

The nail-polish will be more effective in preventing date-rape than the feminists’ attempts to change the attitudes of rapists. In reality, there are few ways to reform rapists.

No matter how much society strives to decrease the number of rapists, there will always be “big bad wolves” who inflict harm on “25 percent of female college students,” according to the studies by University of Sciences.

According to a study conducted by the University of the Sciences, “approximately 33 percent of men said that if they could escape date rape without detection, they would rape someone.”

By knowing that there is a chance that the desired victim will discover his efforts to assault her, the rapist will be more hesitant to attack, thus reducing the number of rapes.

Rape victims are our sisters, daughters, wives and friends. We should care about their well-being. Although this nail polish may seem to be only a small step in ending this inconceivably appalling act, it dramatically alters the future of a potential rape victim, one who suffers through the rest of her life, helpless and confused, versus one who continues on her with normal life.

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