By Gabrielle Martin, Staff Reporter.
A new nail polish being developed by four male students at North Carolina State University may be able to detect the presence of date rape drugs such as Xanax, Rohypnol (roofies), and gamma hydroxybutyric acid (also known as GHB or liquid ecstasy). The men decided to create this product after discussing the problem of sexual assault on women. According to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted. The students have named their company
Undercover Colors and advertise themselves on their website and Facebook as “the first fashion company empowering women to prevent sexual assault”.
Here’s how the product would work: if you suspect something has been slipped into your drink, you would casually twirl your finger in the drink and if the polish changes colors, you know that something is wrong.
However, this product has raised some controversy. Women are already told not to go out alone, to wear only certain clothing, carry mace, and learn self-defense; and now they need to wear a special nail polish. Is this just one more way to blame the victim instead of the abuser? Or is it a convenient tool for women to use for protection?
The former way of thinking may seem extreme but the people and groups who oppose this product are focused on the fact that women should not have to prevent their own rape.
Donna Giuliani, Associate Professor of Sociology at Delta said, “This nail polish is a Band-Aid to a problem instead of the emergency surgery needed to fix the problem.”
The product has also raised some questions and worries from people such as Delta Chemistry Professor, Cynthia Peck, as to it’s effectiveness. If you apply the nail polish Thursday night, will it still be effective Saturday night after you’ve cleaned the house? Will the lemon juice you got with your beer affect the polish? There is a lot of testing that needs to be done before the product is ready for public use.
“While I think this could be an effective tool,” says Peck, “I would not want to depend on a nail polish indicator to protect my daughters.”
How do women at Delta feel about this new invention? Are they supportive of it? Of the 53 women interviewed on Delta’s campus, 51 said that they support the product.
Hillary Opperman, a student at Delta, said, “It’s up to you to look after your own well-being.”
That statement seems like a sad, but accurate, truth of our society. A nail polish that can detect date rape drugs may serve as a useful tool to help prevent drug-facilitated rape but it may also help sweep the problem under the rug.
Professor Giuliani said, “As we work toward a society where there are not attackers to create victims, my daughter will be wearing this nail polish.”
This product is not a solution to the problem of drug-facilitated rape but while we wait for progress on solving this atrocious epidemic, it may be a useful tool.
Undercover Colors nail polish is still undergoing testing and not yet available in stores. For more information about the company, visit their Undercover Colors Facebook page. To donate to the project, go to www.undercovercolors.com.
