Three Teenage Girls Invented A Straw To Detect Date Rape Drugs

By Mayukh Saha / Truth Theory

Date violence is very common in this modern era. The most brutal and violent among them is Date rape. In this changing world, great minds have come up with several inventions to make human life easier. But how many people come forward to invent something to prevent women from being sexually harassed?

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Three creative teen minds, Victoria Roca, Susana Cappelle and Carolina Baigorri, students of Florida’s Gulliver Preparatory School are fighting date rape drugs with a straw. They are using a simple straw as their weapon to fight a crime which causes trauma, stigma, and shame. Date rape is prevailing violence, particularly among female collegegoers. This idea came about during an entrepreneurship class which they were a part of. Later, they decided to introduce their product in the 2017 Miami Herald’s Business Plan Challenge and bagged the trophy.

The ‘Smart Straw’, which includes two separate test strips, can be used to identify the substances commonly used for sexual abuse. Once the straw is placed into any drink with date rape drugs like Midazolam, Temazepam, Ketamine (Special K), roofies (Rohypnol), and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid. it will turn light blue.

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According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics data, since getting admitted in college almost 21% of female students across nine schools experienced sexual abuse with most incidents involving the consumption of drugs and alcohol. Biagorri said that 16 to 24 years are the most frequently targeted age groups and since high school, she feels like date rape is the most common problem among young women and she hears a lot about it. They added that this is not a solution to end date rape but they hope to reduce the number of rape and other horrendous situations you might be in through drugs.

Patenting the Smart Straw is their next plan and also, they are introducing this smart innovation to the global market with the help of large manufacturers. Cappello said that the team would continue their work and would come up with different ideas to make the straw even better; more affordable, eco-friendly and easier to dispose of. They also want to produce straw in various sizes to accommodate different varieties of drinks comparing a glass of coke to a mojito. The team is planning to launch an icebreaking campaign ahead of the official release of the Smart Straws.

These bunch of girls is set on to fight against date drugs and saving many teenage girls from being prey. Roca said that they are hell-bent on making their business idea a success and hope to inspire people who have a business idea to pursue it if one feels passionate about it.

Images: C. M. Guerrero/Miami Herald