The term date rape is the newest slang lexical addition and is essentially a way for an aspiring rapist to "throw" his victim. More and more are the victims of rape by familiar faces or people they met through dating apps - if you have seen Tinder Swindler you will understand what I mean - and the way to lure them into the heinous act was substance use.

Something that not many people know, but it is worth mentioning, is that the "technology" of these substances that cause hallucinations or even comatose incidents and the next day makes you not remember anything from what you did before you took this whatever substance, is constantly changing. Chemistries with drugs, illegal mixes and a combination of drugs create pills that in combination with alcohol act as a depressant towards the body, resulting in the victim becoming prey to the abuser. So, if we consider that someone even unknown throws such a substance in our drink while we are not looking, things can evolve towards evil very quickly.

So, since most victims of rape are women, the experts are called upon to find a solution and this comes from an idea, which was originally created in 2014 and is the work of developers from North Carolina State University, who wanted to find a way to help their girlfriends be safer when they went on a date or just out for a drink. "1 in 6 women will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime," the University's research showed, and thus was born the new wearable technology that would be able to detect common rape drugs, such as Rohypnol also known as Rufus, Xanax, GHB and Ecstasy. So how would this high-tech nail polish work?

"You just dip your finger in the drink you want to control, and within seconds the presence of a rape drug is detected and determined by changing the color of the varnish," its creators point out. The revolutionary Nail Polish could detect the most common drugs used in such cases and would be released with the signature of the company Undercover Colors but the students of the University were never able to find investors, the money and implement this patent in mass production.

Today, Undercover Colors has a small portable device that works with the same philosophy and detects with just two drops of your drink if there is any substance. What will be the next step to find the "antidote" to a possible rape?

Xoxo
Elena Vafeiadi