Students at a US university say they have found a
new way to combat sexual assault: nail polish that can detect the presence of
date rape drugs in drinks.
The project called "Undercover Colours"
won a competition that challenges North Carolina State University students to
find solution to real-life problems.
The nail polish changes colour if it comes into
contact with the so-called dat -rape drugs, allowing a woman to check her drink
by stirring it with her finger.
Among the most common such drugs are Rohypnol,
Xanax, and GHB, which are often odourless and colourless.
The four undergraduates who came up with the idea
say their goal is "to reduce the overall rate of drug-facilitated sexual
assault by creating a risk for potential perpetrators to get caught, shifting
the fear from the victims to the perpetrators".
The Washington Post, which reported on the project,
said critics of this and similar ideas note that alcohol is used more often
than drugs in cases of sexual assaults.
The newspaper quoted Tara Culp-Ressler of Think
Progress as saying that the nail polish could have unintended effect on women
who are assaulted.
"Any college students who don’t use the special
polish could open themselves up to criticism for failing to do everything in
their power to prevent rape," she wrote.
The students say the product is still being
developed, but would eventually like to bring it to the market.
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