Date rape has turned into a serious dilemma, where sick perverts add drugs into girl’s drinks to stupefy them and have their way. According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), women on college campuses have been the target of this form of sexual assault, with girls aged 18 to 24 being at an elevated risk.
To tackle the problem, three teenagers have developed, “Smart Straw,” which will allow the girls to detect common date rape drugs in their drinks and stop the heinous crime in its track. The tube consists of two chemical strips that change their color to navy blue when they touch the substances used in “drug-facilitated sexual assault,” like GHB and Ketamine.
High school students Susana Cappello, Carolina Baigorri, and Victoria Roca from Miami say they wanted to help people be more aware of their surroundings while at a bar or party and consuming alcoholic or nonalcoholic drinks.
“We want to inspire young people as well as lower the rapes that occur at social scenes,” the Smart Straw site said.
Daniela Brenha, the students’ Gulliver Preparatory teacher, told the Herald
The girls “discussed and researched issues important to them during the ideation part of their Entrepreneurship class. They have designed the straws and are perfecting the formula, and we are very proud of them.”
The trio has been making waves on the media and even caught the eye of actor and investor Ashton Kutcher, who appreciated the effort. Still, the girls acknowledge that this is merely an attempt at prevention and isn’t guaranteed to end the problem,
“We know it’s not a solution because it can’t end rape,” Baigorri told Inside Edition. “But we were hoping to lower the amount of rape and dangerous situations you might be in through drugs.”
What are your thoughts on Smart Straw? Do you think this will be effective in curbing out date rape? Comment below!