Although at first glance this seems to many a great way to empower women and make them feel safe on a night out, and some people have criticised the product saying that it is not something currently needed, with only 2.3% of a group of sexual assault victims questioned believed they had been given drugs. Furthermore, as most crimes of this sort are committed by known and trusted men, many women feel that even if they had the nail polish on, they would not have thought to stir a drink given to them by a friend or family member.
The main problem I see with this product is the fact that it is accepting rapists and the fear of them. It’s great that it will empower women to feel safe on a night out, but how long until we start telling people who were sexually assaulted that they should have been wearing the nail polish, and it becomes just another way of controlling the way women look? Will it become that we can only wear a short skirt if we also have this nail polish on so we can avoid getting attacked with blame and have the crime taken seriously?
All in all, encouraging people to wear this nail polish without addressing the issue of sexual assault will not reduce the number of incidents, it will just change who it happens to. Not everyone in a club will be wearing anti-rape nail polish. It takes a long time to work, so if you’re noticed, the suspect can move on.
As part of my role next year, I will be working to make sure the campus and surrounding area stay safe, providing information on Zero Tolerance and Consent on campus throughout the year.
One great service you can use to report any sexual assault on campus and the surrounding area is Hollaback! The link to Royal Holloway's one is here: http://ulu.ihollaback.org/hollaback-campus/surhul/ and you can download it to your phone or use the web page to post what has happened to you. If you need any help regarding this issue, contacts for support and advisory services can also be found on this page.
See you in Fresher's!
Imogen x
