Our Story
My name is Sonnet Ehlers/Bryant.
I have worked as a blood technician and medical researcher since 1967 in South Africa, where, according to one study based in the Gauteng province, 1 in 4 women have been raped in their lifetime. Crime statistics released by the South African Police Service in 2013 suggest that rape is grossly underreported. For decades, I have witnessed the reality of these grim statistics first-hand while treating survivors of this unspeakable act.
While the incidence of rape is extremely high in South Africa, it is not an exception. Somewhere in the United States of America a woman is raped every 98 seconds. The United Nations recognizes that sexual violence is a severely underreported crime and that similar statistics can be found globally. As rape statistics climb to staggering rates and victims continue to be overlooked by justice systems around the world, a radical response to sexual violence is needed.
It was a patient who prompted me to pursue such a response early in my career. Late one night in 1969, I was tending to a woman who had just survived an attack when she left me with words I would never forget.
Shaking in terror with tears running down her face, she said:
“If only I had teeth down there.”
I pledged to her that one day, I would do something to help others in her situation. Now several decades later, I intend to fulfill this promise by transforming her idea into a device designed to give women a stronger chance at escaping sexual assault and bring their attackers to justice.
Rape aXe 