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Underwear designed to protect women from sexual abuse is on its way

A couple from America have designed a pair of pants to help protect women during a sexual assault attack.

Ruth and Yuval from Nyack, New York, crowdfunded to make their protective AR Wear and racked up an impressive $55,000 to transform their idea a reality.

As we’re all aware, rape and sexual assault is a seriously concerning, ongoing issue. In the US, an American is sexually assault every 98 seconds and over here in the UK, Rape Crisis calculates 11 adults are raped each hour.

To combat this, the inventors wanted to create underwear that would help victims should a terrifying sexual assault incident occur.

AR Wear is in the early stages of development [Photo: AR Wear]
AR Wear is in the early stages of development [Photo: AR Wear]

They reviewed stats from assault cases and discovered that resistance increases the chance of avoided completed rape – without putting the victim in more danger.

In response, they devised a pair of pants made from a fabric resistant to cutting and pulling. Additionally, a reinforced skeleton structure makes them incredibly difficult to remove for anyone who’s not wearing them.

They’re reportedly comfortable and discreet, meaning women can wear them with any outfit.

“Rape is about as wrong as it gets,” the brand’s website reads. “The only one responsible for a rape is the rapist and AR Wear will not solve the fundamental problem that rape exists in our world. Only by raising awareness and education, as well as bringing rapists to justice, can we all hope to eventually accomplish the goal of eliminating rape as a threat to both women and men.

“Meanwhile, as long as sexual predators continue to populate our world, AR Wear would like to provide products to women and girls that will offer better protection against some attempted rapes while the work of changing society’s rape culture moves forward.”

The product is still in the early stages of development, but eventually the duo hope to offer an array of wearable items, including running shorts, that will be able to help defend a victim. Hopefully options for men are also in the pipeline, as it’s not just women who are victims of sexual assault. Of the 87,000 British people raped a year, some 12,000 are male.

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