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Date Rape Drugs
Date rape drugs are considered to be any hypnotic type
drug used for the purpose of rendering a victim
incapable of giving consent during a sexual encounter.
The following pages will discuss these types of drugs.
Although not considered a hypnotic drug, alcohol also
needs to be discussed as it is a common factor in
non-consensual sex.
Types of Date Rape Drugs (click each to learn
more)
What Role Does Alcohol Play?
Drinking alcohol can set you up to be a victim of sexual
assault, or someone who commits rape. Whether you are a
man or woman, drinking alcohol reduces four skills that
can protect you. These skills form the word RAPE:
Realize what situations place you in danger of
committing rape or being a victim of rape
Avoid and manage conflicts with partners and
intimates
Perceive clearly what others are doing and
Establish and communicate your desires and limits about
sex.
Most people admit that their thinking gets distorted
when they drink. As a result, they can miss important
danger signals, such as changes in the voice or behavior
of a potential assailant. They are also less likely to
avoid or talk their way out of a conflict.
Women and men who drink are less able to communicate
what they want and don't want in terms of sex. The odds
that "maybe" or even "no" will be interpreted to mean
"yes" increase when either party has been drinking. Some
students push others to drink so they will be unable to
resist physical or emotional pressure to have sex. Men
who drink are also at greater risk of being accused of
raping someone-rightly or wrongly. And there's one other
problem: like it or not, many men and women feel that a
woman who has more than one or two drinks is asking for
sex, no matter what she says.
Regardless of how much a woman drinks, however, a man is
never justified in forcing sex on her if she resists or
says "no," or if she is under the influence of alcohol.
Consequences of Acquaintance Rape
Horrible in itself, acquaintance rape can have other
awful consequences:
- It can cause lasting emotional and legal damage.
- It can disrupt or end schooling.
- It can result in pregnancy.
- It can expose both men and women to sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs), including AIDS. And STDs are epidemic
among adolescents and young adults, who acquire new
infections at a rate of about one person per second.
Remember, if you have sex when you drink, you are less
likely to use condoms - or to use them properly. This
puts women at risk of unwanted pregnancy and puts both
men and women at risk of becoming infected.
Students who binge drink, for example, are more than
seven times as likely to have unprotected sex as are
students who don't binge.
What Can You Do To Protect Yourself or Be Safer?
. . . you can stay in control and reduce your personal
risk if you identify and change the things you do that
put you in danger. Most importantly, drink less or not
at all. If you do drink, do so in moderation (for
example, no more than a drink an hour with food). Drink
only in safe, supervised places. Work with your friends
to take care of each other. Avoid walking home alone
after a party. Use a buddy system or use campus escort
services when walking on or around campus after class
hours, especially at night. Look out for other women who
may be at risk and intervene by alerting others or
calling campus police if necessary. Avoid going by
yourself to a room with a man who has been drinking -
whether it's his room, your room, or someone else's
room. Tell a friend where you're going and when you'll
be back, so he or she can look out for you. Trust your
instincts if you feel threatened or unsafe with someone.
Some information for this page was collected from the
Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug
Prevention. |
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