Alcohol Is Most Common 'Date Rape' Drug
Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal DrugsAlso Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology; Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 15 Oct 2007 - 0:00 PDT
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Young women in Northern Ireland are leaving themselves vulnerable to rape or serious sexual assault because of their binge drinking, according to research carried out by staff and students within the Forensic and Legal Medicine team at the University of Ulster.
Dr Janet Hall undertook a Masters research project with supervisors Dr Tara Moore and Professor Edward Goodall on drug facilitated sexual assault within Northern Ireland. They examined toxicology results compiled from victims of alleged sexual assaults over a six year period from 1999 to 2005. The findings demonstrated that the average alcohol levels at the time of the alleged assaults were almost THREE TIMES the drink/driving limit.
The research undermines claims that the use of 'date-rape' drugs or 'spiking' of drinks is the major factor involved. The study failed to find any trace of specific date rape drugs such as GHB, Rohypnol or ketamine, although it did caution that delays in reporting alleged assaults or in taking samples could mean that such drugs could no longer be detected.
The study found that the number of cases where toxicology samples were taken rose from 30 in 1999 to 51 in 2005 and the percentage of samples which contained alcohol, drugs or both increased from 66% to 78% over the same period.
The number of cases where high or very high levels of alcohol were found in the alleged victims increased over the same period. Although the involvement of drugs, other than alcohol, in the samples doubled in the six year period, their contribution to the assaults remain unclear. Many of the drugs detected were either prescription drugs or recreational drugs. Some drugs which could have been used to spike drinks were detected, but they also may have been simply prescribed for use by the alleged victim.
Dr Janet Hall, who examined the Forensic Science Northern Ireland toxicology database, said: "This research confirms the findings of other studies in the UK, US and Australia that alcohol is a major contributor to vulnerability to sexual assault in social situations and acquaintance rape."
Dr Hall added "Given the very high levels of alcohol consumption by some alleged victims, the findings also raise the question of what constitutes valid consent to sexual activity. The capacity to give informed consent at these levels of alcohol consumption is very questionable."
Dr Moore said "Further study is now required to give a more accurate picture of the involvement of alcohol and drugs in cases of alleged sexual assault."
This research once again has highlighted the need for a clear message to be given to all regarding the importance of responsible drinking.
Avoidance of mixing different alcoholic drinks in one sitting and avoidance of mixing alcohol with other substances such as prescription medications or recreational drugs, will help reduce the vulnerability, in social settings, to sexual assault or even rape, the authors say.
ULSTER UNIVERSITY
York Street
Belfast
BT15 1ED
http://www.ulst.ac.uk
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Questions The Report Raises
posted by The Roofie Foundation on 15 Oct 2007 at 4:04 amWhilst we always congratulate research into the subject of drink spiking and DFSA the recent report conducted by The Forensic and Legal Medical Team at the University of Ulster throws up a number of questions.
Firstly how can this report “undermine” claims that date rape drugs or spiking of drinks is a major factor.
To us who have worked in the field of drink spiking and DSFSA for over 11 years this report seems fundamentally flawed.
Firstly it claims that the study failed to find any traces of GHB, Rohypnol or Ketamine - but yet states that samples showed a 12% (from 66% to 78%) increase in the percentage of samples containing alcohol or drugs or both. What actually was found?
Secondly, it did caution that delays in reporting alleged attacks or in taking samples could mean that the drugs are no longer detectable. So how “fresh” were the samples they worked on?
I’m afraid that the report poses more questions than it answers.
What samples were actually tested?
Where did these samples originate from?
What levels of drug in the system were the tests designed to detect?
How long after the alleged assaults were the samples actually taken?
We know that DFSA and drink spiking is one of the most underreported crime in the UK therefore did these samples come from the police after an alleged victim has reported this crime? If so how long how long after the alleged assault were these samples taken?
These questions are very important, especially when forensic scientists in both the UK and USA have shown that both GHB and Rohypnol break down into natural bodily chemicals inside a four week storage period. We know that GHB moves through the body in twelve hours, and the Rohypnol moves through the system in 72 hours. So how long were the samples stored before testing?
We also know that in every case of DFSA and drink spiking alcohol has to be present as the drugs don’t have the desired effect without alcohol present, without alcohol the drugs just act like the drugs were designed to act. Therefore alcohol will always be present, from the perspective of a drink spiker it’s much easier to spike someone who is drunk than someone who has had few drinks and is more aware of what’s going on around them
It’s also interesting to note that the report claims that the involvement of drugs has doubled in the past six years, but goes on to state that their contribution to assault remains unclear, and qualifies this by saying that many of the drugs were even prescription drugs or recreational drugs. Could I ask what other drugs there are? Surely all drugs fall into those two categories. The mere fact that Rohypnol (until it possession was criminalised) was a prescription drug (albeit only on private prescription) and that it is a member of the Benzodiazepine family of drugs in which there are approximately 69 different variants ranging from Valium to Diazepam and that DFSA and drink spiking can be achieved using most, if not all of them.
The report also goes onto mention that “some drugs which could have been used to spike drinks were detected, but they also may have been simply prescribed by the alleged victim” If Rohypnol, GHB, of Ketamine were not found what was found - what were these drugs that may or may not have been prescribed?
Yes alcohol is a contributing factor to rape, and we welcome the reports comment as “what actually does raise the question of what constitutes valid consent to sexual activity.” May we point out the Sexual Offences Act 2004 says that drunken consent is not consent. However we now need to determine is, at what levels of intoxication is someone too drunk to give this consent, especially given that everyone has a different level of alcohol tolerance?
Dr Janet Hall, who examined the Forensic Science Northern Ireland toxicology database, said: "This research confirms the findings of other studies in the UK, US and Australia that alcohol is a major contributor to vulnerability to sexual assault in social situations and acquaintance rape." Which UK reports is she quoting as both the latest reports in the UK, ACPO’s Operation Matisse Investigating Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault, published in 2006 and The Advisory Council on the Misuse Of Drugs, Drug Facilitated Sexual Abuse published in April 2007 both indicate that DFSA exists and that evidence of the use of drugs was found.
The report can bee summed up in the quotation attributed to Dr Moore when she says that “Further study is now required to give a more accurate picture of the involvement of alcohol and drugs in cases of alleged sexual assault.” Wasn’t this the objective of the report in the first place?
Finally we welcome the closing statement that says that the report simply highlights the need for a clear message to be given to all regarding the importance of reasonable drinking. But again this statement poses another question. Who responsibility is it to give this warning, and to fund the subsequent awareness campaigns?
The Roofie Foundation
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