Defend Fear

Remember when we were introduced to the pink taser, for ladies to use on lady attackers? If the ladyfication of razors, deodorants and biros are anything to go by I imagine it was twice to price as the normal taser that you could not expect a lady to use to defend herself with her lady hands. The Hello Kitty taser of course bumps the weapon up another price bracket as it's endorsed. By a kitty. But if tasing isn't your thing there are other forms of defence. You can learn self defence of course, so if your attacker kindly agrees to move into the correct position for you to flip them (or move back so you can amaze and astound them with a roly poly), pop a pepper spray in your bag or go with the good old fashioned keys between the knuckles thing. OR you can now get a Defender. 

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The Defender is the self defence world's answer to the Smart phone. Funding for the Defender on crowd funding site Indiegogo is currently at $223575, more than double what the makers intended to raise; there is unquestionably a market out there for the handbag defence tool. 

What does this device do? It is described as "a product for those concerned about personal protection and peace of mind. The Defender integrates elements of products and services found separately and elegantly combines them into one compact personal accessory."

If such need should arise and you have the presence of mind then at the press of a button the Defender sprays your attacker and sounds an alarm whilst taking a photo which it sends to a monitoring service aling with GPS information.  

Of course we can carry all these things in our handbags (it has to be handbags because women's clothing doesn't have pockets) and like good Girl Guides always be prepared...to be attacked. Or we could concentrate on reducing an atmosphere of fear. 

I can't help but wonder if women who report their attackers will be asked why they didn't have such a defence device.

The Defender will at first only be available in the US. As the world follows where America leads and these devices become more widely available I can't help but wonder if women who report their attackers will be asked why they didn't have such a defence device. In addition to being quizzed about short skirts or alcohol consumption. 

Dr. Brooke Magnanti also pointed out in the Telegraph that: "The reality is that violent crime is not evenly spread. And, as we know, it's likely to be at the hands of someone we know. What use a pepper spray - even one that can call the police, should you be able to reach it in time, have a data connection and take a picture of your attacker before spraying them - is in that scenario, I don't know."

It is truly curious that any advertising campaign or article addressing the subject of personal safety seem only to focus on the victim's responsibility in such crimes. There are no 'don't attack women' posters, just 'don't get drunk and walk home' posters. There are no demands on the government not to disenfranchise people s they feel little connection to society. Just massive promotions for fear and feeding paranoia. 

Which prompts the question...do we feel fearful because it's dangerous out there, or do we feel fearful because there's money to be made out of it?

Squeamish Kate