Sexual assault is a huge issue in today’s world. There needs to be a tool invented that will allow women and men to protect themselves against sexual assault. This invention is a keychain that essentially acts as a radar and remote. The radar can sense any potential predators from a high tech database. It can be males that are registered sex offenders, someone with sexual assault charges, or any charges against them in general. There is a locator inside of it that acts as a GPS and can tell where you are in relation to any potential predators. The radar will come up with dots of people around you and if one is dangerous, the “indicator of danger” button will begin to flash. In addition to this, there is built in pepper spray and a whistle button that will help if you are caught in a dangerous situation. Another gadget on the keychain is the facial ID screen. You can check the profile of any potentially dangerous person that is registered in the database. It will show their picture, physical information, and the charges that have been against them. So if you ever come across the person, you will know how they look and know to be very cautious. When the situation because unsafe, there is a help number button that you can press. This will link you straight to 911 if that is what you like, or to the special community that should be created especially for sexual assault problems. For those who want to help, they can become operators for the phone line that will be able to send certified people to help. Sometimes the police will not help in certain situations if nothing happened yet, so if anyone ever feels threatened, this phone line will link you to someone that understands and is ready to help you. The people they send over will be certified to assist you in getting to a safe zone if you are unable to.
With the work of GPS, computer technology experts, and a community of people fighting against sexual assault, this keychain will be designed to combat sexual assault problems around the community, and eventually the world. Everyone will use this device differently, but I think the message that the creators are trying to get across will not get lost. It might cause paranoia among people because they will constantly be checking the radar, but it can also give a feeling of safety because you are aware of your surroundings. I think the way creators wanted it to be used may become lost in translation in the midst of arguments over if the device should be legal or if people on the list are not sexual predators and they are depicted as so. Instead of being a device to combat sexual harassment, the message gets transformed into whether it should be allowed because of other issues. Some people on the list may not be sexual offenders, but have been charged with some crime, but that is just to make people aware of who is around them and if they should take caution. The flashing danger light will only flash when a person who is on the database for a sex offence is near you.
Despite the great cause that this keychain is fighting for, there are some problems that it brings up. Often times, people can be sexually assaulted by someone who has never been caught or someone they are close to, so they would not be on the database. Also, there could be a lot of false alarms from paranoid people. Even though it never hurts to be cautious, this device could be abused and the community of people helping would be wasting their time and effort. Another problem that arises is the question of privacy. Some people may believe that this keychain is an invasion of that. But we have so many devices that are able to track people, such as GPS on phones, that this is similar to it. Except, this is for the benefit of people and their safety.
This invention can be used to reinforce existing structures of race, gender, politics, class, and other social divisions in various ways. In terms of gender, mainly women would be using this because many men feel as if they are safe from sexual assault, even though that is not true. In terms of race, it could cause issues among class because it could stereotype all criminals as sex offenders. In terms of politics, it could cause problems with the police because it gives off the idea that people don’t trust the police to do their job to protect against sexual assault. Also, this could put pressure on the government to do something about this issue. Some people may think this helps society, and others may think it will make people more anxious of their surroundings. It definitely challenges structures of gender because women have often felt powerless against sexual assault, and now they have a tool to fight back. In terms of race, it may paint some races in a negative light if they are a large part of the database, but I think this keychain mainly challenges structures of gender, politics, and class. This invention will definitely cause a lot of controversial arguments concerning its use. Socially, it could change the world by helping to combat sexual assault, but also open the difficult question of what is the right way to handle the issue. Despite this, I think this invention could help create a community of people wanting to band together against sexual assault, and if the keychain does not end up working in the way the creators planned, then the community can still work together to try and stop sexual assault as much as possible.