One in four women are sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime. Approximately every one in four college aged women are victims to date rape during their college years. And 100 percent of these women have had their lives changed and even dreams ripped away, all because of one person’s choice to take advantage of them.

Date rape is a serious and sadly very common occurrence in the United States and many other countries world wide. Ninety percent of date rapes occur with alcohol involved; 75 percent of males and 55 percent of females are under the influence of narcotics. A commonly used date rape drug is Rohypnol, an odorless, tasteless and colorless drug that resembles an aspirin. The pill is slipped into the victim’s drink to promote disinhibition and makes the victim physically incapacitated with impaired judgment. Rohypnol is ten times as potent as Valium and is one of the most popular date rape drugs because it achieves the desired effect and is relatively cheap, but comes with many dangers such as memory loss, extreme sedation, dizziness, loss of bodily control, physical and psychological dependence, hallucinations, convulsions and possibly seizures.

Since this drug is practically invisible, there has never been an easy and quick method for someone to tell if their drink (alcoholic or not) has been tampered with, until recently. Four undergraduate male students from North Carolina State University have created a product that can prevent date rape and help secure the lives and dreams of men and women worldwide, called Undercover Colors. How the product works is a woman (or man) applies the clear nail polish to their finger nails and lightly stirs his or her drink with their fingers.

If the polish changes colors, then the drink has been tampered with. If not, then it is safe to consume.

The men that created this potentially life changing invention came up with the idea because they all know someone who has been involved in sexual assault. Only 42 percent of women who are victims of date rape actually tell someone about what happened to them, and with every one in four women being a victim of date rape, chances are someone you know may have been a victim of it too. There has not yet been any news on when this product will be hitting the shelves for people to buy, but there is no doubt that as soon as it does, there will be a significant change in rape statistics nationwide.