How did the idea of constructing this protective device occur to you?
It started when I was 14-15 years old and came to understand that there was something called rape. The first time the idea of possibly preventing it came to my mind was when I was reading a book about an Indian girl. She was young, perhaps 18 years old. When she was out alone gathering herbs, she was taken unawares by a man whom she already knew to have evil intents. He had tried to rape her or someone else. She then crouched down and sanded her vagina. The man saw it and for this reason did not rape her. It struck me that this was the first time I ever considered the fact that women could protect themselves. Since then, I have for many years read about raping and I have friends who have been subject to it. There is one who was badly molested. Over the years I have felt frustration that this problem just goes on year out and year in. It seems as if the perpetrators generally do not get the proper punishment. What actually triggered my idea of a protective device was the group rape in Rissne outside of Stockholm.

In your opinion, when is the protective device to be used?
Primarily it is conceived as a concept leading to a change. Women and men should consider that women can protect themselves and do something to improve the situation. The secondary function is that the woman shall be able to purchase the protective device in order to use it, e.g. when going home late at night feeling insecure about the trip home.

What function would the protective device have to the woman wearing it?
I believe that the knowledge of having this kind of protective device would make her feel more secure in view of an assault situation. Then she would know that she has an invisible protection. The idea behind the protective device is that the perpetrator shall have such a surprising and painful experience that he is disconcerted and that the women can then seize the opportunity and get away. The thought of the protective device might make women feel more secure and thus radiate more strength. This might discourage a perpetrator.

What is your opinion of self-defence?
I believe that self-defence is a good thing. Many women who have not defended themselves during a rape have testified that they feel like an accessory and that they can blame themselves for not offering any resistance. They have felt very badly about this, feeling as they have been more or less accessories to the crime. Women who have offered resistance have, on the other hand, subsequently felt that they did what they could in order to protect themselves. In addition, I believe that if you’re familiar with self-defence techniques, your self-confidence increases, you look more self-assured and thus you can manage the situation better.

Your invention is intended to stop violence against women, but at the same time the use of the protective device is a kind of violence too. What do you say about that?
I do not think that it is a matter of more violence than required by the situation. It is not lethal violence. On the other hand, the man’s penis is rendered unusable. The protective device disarms the weapon which the rapist has tried to use against the woman, and thus he cannot complete the rape. He might get his penis injured, but not more than it can be patched up again. After all, he is not castrated.

Do you view this protective device as an immediate punishment for the perpetrator?
No, I have not considered it as a form of punishment. I have conceived it as a protection for the woman.

Do you believe that the protective device and similar measures constitute the solution to the problem of rape and other forms of violence against women?
No, the solution consists of many different parts. A very important part is how we bring our girls and boys up. Our opinion of what a girl or a woman and what a boy or a man is. We must allow people to define themselves. With such a permissive climate we would have come a long way. Also with how men contemplate violence. They must be presented with another view of problems and how to get rid of their frustrations, shortcomings and problems. Another very important issue is public debate and development projects addressing violence against women. Looking back at how women in Sweden have been able to improve their situation since the 19th century, it is just because they have pursued such society-related issues. A support system for women is also necessary, i.e. women refuges, educated policemen, psychologists, nursing staff able to support and assist in order for a rape not to become a life-long trauma to a woman. Support groups for men are equally important, but also chemical castration and adequate punishment. In my opinion it is objectionable that they are set completely free or that they only get a few months of punishment or social service care. The police must start investigating this kind of crime in earnest. Women should not feel as if it is their own fault that the have been raped.

What do you think will be the consequences in the society if your protective device would be used by many, say thousands of women?
I believe that the awareness of rape would increase among women as well as men. People would discuss it more commonly. Women would compare the cost and the design of the protective device. Is this one efficient? When do you use yours? Men would joke or ask themselves when the time had come, does this chick wear it? Perhaps they would ask their girlfriends or wives if they had taken it out or not.

Would you use your protective device yourself if you felt that the construction and design was quite satisfactory?
The answer to that question is yes.

You wish to patent you protective device. Where would there be a market, do you think?
I believe that there is a market in Sweden as well as in other countries, also outside Europe. I think that many women would consider buying such a protection. It just might become illegal to sell and market, but perhaps not illegal to wear.