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= Date rape drug =
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Introduction
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A date rape drug is any drug that incapacitates another person and
renders that person vulnerable to sexual assault, including rape. The
substances are associated with date rape because of reported incidents
of their use in the context of two people dating, during which the
victim is sexually assaulted or raped or suffers other harm. However,
substances have also been exploited during retreats, for example
ayahuasca retreats. The substances are not exclusively used to
perpetrate sexual assault or rape, but are the properties or
side-effects of substances normally used for legitimate medical
purposes. One of the most common incapacitating agents for date rape
is alcohol, administered either surreptitiously or consumed
voluntarily, rendering the victim unable to make informed decisions or
give consent.
Frequency
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No comprehensive data exists on the frequency of drug-facilitated
sexual assaults involving the use of surreptitious drug
administration, due to the report rate of assaults and because rape
victims who do report are often either never tested for these drugs,
are tested for the wrong ones, or the tests are administered after the
drug has been metabolized and left their body.
A 1999 study of 1,179 urine specimens from victims of suspected
drug-facilitated sexual assaults in 49 American states found six
(0.5%) positive for Rohypnol, 97 (8%) positive for other
benzodiazepines, 48 (4.1%) positive for GHB, 451 (38%) positive for
alcohol and 468 (40%) negative for any of the drugs searched for.
A similar study of 2,003 urine samples of victims of suspected
drug-facilitated sexual assaults found less than 2% tested positive
for Rohypnol or GHB. The samples used in these studies could only be
verified as having been submitted within a 72-hour time frame or a
48-hour time frame.
A three-year study in the UK detected sedatives or disinhibiting drugs
that victims said they had not voluntarily taken in the urine of two
percent of suspected drug-facilitated sexual assault victims. In 65%
of the 1,014 cases included in this study, testing could not be
conducted within a time frame that would allow detection of GHB. A
2009 Australian study found that of 97 instances of patients admitted
to hospital believing their drinks might have been spiked, illicit
drugs were detected in 28% of samples, and nine cases were identified
as "plausible drink spiking cases". This study defined a "plausible
drink spiking case" in such a way that cases where (a) patients
believed that their drink had been spiked, and (b) lab tests showed
agents that patients said they had not ingested would still be ruled
out as plausible if the patient did not also (c) exhibit "signs and
symptoms" that were considered "consistent with agents detected by
laboratory screening."
Oral
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In slang, a Mickey Finn (or simply a Mickey) is a drink laced with a
psychoactive drug or incapacitating agent (especially chloral hydrate)
given to someone without their knowledge, with intent to incapacitate
them. Serving someone a "Mickey" is most commonly referred to as
"slipping someone a mickey". Drink spiking is common practice by
predators at drinking establishments who often lace alcoholic drinks
with sedative drugs.
Syringe injection
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Multiple reports of needle spiking were reported by young women in the
United Kingdom from 2021 onwards. On 27 October 2021, the Garda
Síochána (Irish police) began an investigation after a woman was
spiked with a needle in a Dublin nightclub.
Depressants
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Alcohol, consumed voluntarily, is the most commonly used drug involved
in sexual assaults. Since the mid-1990s, the media and researchers
have also documented an increased use of drugs such as flunitrazepam
and ketamine to facilitate sexual assaults in the context of dating.
Other drugs that have been used include hypnotics such as zopiclone,
methaqualone, and the widely available zolpidem (Ambien); sedatives
such as neuroleptics (anti-psychotics), chloral hydrate, and some
histamine H1 antagonists; common recreational drugs such as ethanol,
cocaine, and less common anticholinergics, barbiturates, opioids, PCP,
scopolamine; nasal spray ingredient oxymetazoline; and certain
GABAergics like GHB. Gamma-Butyrolactone is also often referred to as
being used in sexual assaults.
Alcohol
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Researchers agree that the drug most commonly involved in
drug-facilitated sexual assaults is alcohol, which the victim has
consumed voluntarily in most cases. In most jurisdictions, alcohol is
legal and readily available and is used in the majority of sexual
assaults. Many perpetrators use alcohol because their victims often
drink it willingly, and can be encouraged to drink enough to lose
inhibitions or consciousness. Sex with an unconscious victim is
considered rape in most jurisdictions and some assailants have
committed "rapes of convenience", assaulting a victim after he or she
had become unconscious from drinking too much.
Alcohol consumption is known to have effects on sexual behavior and
aggression. During social interactions, alcohol consumption causes
more biased appraisal of a partner's sexual motives while impairing
communication about and enhancing misperception of sexual intentions,
effects exacerbated by peer influence about how to behave when
drinking.
The effects of alcohol at the point of forced sex commonly include an
impaired ability to rectify misperceptions and a diminished ability to
resist sexual advances and aggressive sexual behavior.
'The Blade' released a special report, "The Making of an Epidemic,"
criticizing a study conducted in the 1990s that concluded that 55% of
rape victims had been intoxicated. According to 'The Blade', the study
specifically ignored an Ohio statute that excluded "situations where a
person plies his intended partner with drink or drugs in hopes that
lowered inhibition might lead to a liaison." The author of the study
later admitted that the wording of the survey had been ambiguous.
Alcohol in campus rape
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The increase of sexual assaults on college campuses has been
attributed to the social expectations of students to participate in
alcohol consumption; social norm dictates that students drink heavily
and engage in casual sex.
Various studies have concluded the following:
* On average, at least 50% of college sexual assault cases are
associated with alcohol use.
* On college campuses, 74% of the perpetrators and 55% of the victims
had been drinking alcohol.
* In 2002, more than 70,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24
were victims of alcohol-related sexual assault in the U.S.
* In violent incidents recorded by the police in which alcohol was a
factor, about 9% of the offenders and nearly 14% of the victims were
under age 21.
Zolpidem
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Zolpidem (Ambien) is one of the most common date-rape drugs according
to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Benzodiazepines
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Benzodiazepines (tranquilizers), such as Valium, Librium, Klonopin,
Xanax, and Ativan, are prescribed to treat anxiety, panic attacks,
insomnia, and several other conditions, and are also frequently used
recreationally. Benzodiazepines are often used in drug-facilitated
sexual assaults, with the most notorious being flunitrazepam (chemical
name) or Rohypnol (proprietary or brand name), also known as
"roofies," "rope," and "roaches."
The benzodiazepines midazolam and temazepam were the two most common
benzodiazepines utilized for date rape.
Benzodiazepines can be detected in urine through the use of drug tests
administered by medical officials or sold at pharmacies and performed
at home. Most tests will detect benzodiazepines for a maximum of 72
hours after it was taken. Most general benzodiazepine detection tests
will not detect Rohypnol: the drug requires a test specifically
designed for that purpose. One new process can detect a 2 mg dose of
Rohypnol for up to 28 days post-ingestion. Other tests for Rohypnol
include blood and hair tests. Because the most commonly used drug
tests often yield false negatives for Rohypnol, experts recommend use
of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis.
Rohypnol
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Rohypnol (Flunitrazepam) pills are typically small and dissolve
readily into drinks without significantly affecting their taste or
color, allowing the pills to be easily administered surreptitiously to
victims.
In one 2002 survey of 53 women who used Rohypnol recreationally, 10%
said they were physically or sexually assaulted while under its
influence. If enough of the drug is taken, a person may experience a
state of automatism or dissociation. After the drug wears off, users
may find themselves unable to remember what happened while under its
influence (anterograde amnesia), and feeling woozy, hung-over,
confused, dizzy, sluggish and uncoordinated, often with an upset
stomach. They may also have some difficulty moving their limbs
normally.
Rohypnol is believed to be commonly used in drug-facilitated sexual
assaults in the United States, the United Kingdom, and throughout
Europe, Asia and South America. Although Rohypnol's use in
drug-facilitated sexual assaults has been covered extensively in the
news media, researchers disagree about how common such use actually
is. Law enforcement manuals describe it as one of the drugs most
commonly implicated in drug-facilitated sexual assaults. Despite
having a long half-life (18-28 hours) an incorrect belief is that
Rohypnol is undetectable 12 hours after administration which may
result in victims failing to get a blood or urine test the following
day.
GHB
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Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a central nervous system depressant. It
has no odor and tastes salty, but the taste can be masked when mixed
in a drink.
GHB is used recreationally to stimulate euphoria, to increase
sociability, to promote libido and lower inhibitions. It is sold under
names such as Rufies, Liquid E and Liquid X. It is usually taken
orally, by the capful or teaspoon.
From 1996 to 1999, 22 reports of GHB being used in drug-facilitated
sexual assaults were made to the United States Drug Enforcement
Administration. A 26-month study of 1,179 urine samples from suspected
drug-facilitated sexual assaults across the United States found 4%
positive for GHB. The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) says
that in the United States GHB had surpassed Rohypnol as the substance
most commonly used in drug-facilitated sexual assaults, likely because
GHB is much more easily available, cheaper and leaves the body more
quickly. GHB is only detectable in urine for six to twelve hours after
ingestion.
Ayahuasca
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Ayahuasca has been used in some ayahuasca retreats to sexually abuse
ayahuasca tourists.
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)
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MDMA is an empathogen. Although it is not sedating like other date
rape drugs, it has been used to facilitate sexual assault. It can
increase disinhibition and sexual desire. Often Ecstasy is combined
with amphetamines or other drugs.
Detection
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Several devices have, in recent years, been developed to detect the
presence of date rape drugs, many designed with discreetness in mind.
One, developed by two Tel Aviv University researchers, is a sensor for
gamma-hydroxybutyric acid and ketamine, but appears similar to a
straw, and sends a text to the user's phone to warn them. In 2022,
another "Smart Straw" product was designed by students at the
University of Nantes: a non-electronic stainless steel straw including
a ring that would change colors in the presence of GHB, Rohypnol, or
ketamine. Another, designed by four North Carolina State University
students, is a nail polish that changes color in the presence of date
rape drugs. Several others have also been designed with these
color-changing mechanisms in mind.
Media coverage
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There were three stories in the media about Rohypnol in 1993, 25 in
1994, and 854 in 1996. In early 1996, 'Newsweek' magazine published
"Roofies: The date-rape drug" which ended with the line "Don't take
your eyes off your drink." That summer, researchers say all major
American urban and regional newspapers covered date rape drugs, with
headlines such as "Crackdown sought on date rape drug" ('Los Angeles
Times') and "Drug zaps memory of rape victims" ('San Francisco
Chronicle'). In 1997 and 1998, the date rape drug story received
extensive coverage on CNN, ABC's '20/20' and 'Primetime Live', as well
as 'The Oprah Winfrey Show'. Women were advised not to drink from
punch bowls, not to leave a drink unattended and keeping drinks with
them at all times (including when going to a dance or the bathroom, or
using the phone), not to try new drinks, not to share drinks, not to
drink anything with an unusual taste or appearance, take their own
drinks to parties, drink nothing opened by another person, and if they
feel sick to go with someone they know and not alone or with someone
they just met or do not know.
News media has been criticized for overstating the threat of
drug-facilitated sexual assault, for providing "how to" material for
potential date rapists and for advocating "grossly excessive
protective measures for women, particularly in coverage between 1996
and 1998. Law enforcement representatives and feminists have also been
criticized for supporting the overstatements for their own purposes.
Craig Webber states that this extensive coverage has created or
amplified a moral panic rooted in societal anxieties about rape,
hedonism and the increased freedoms of women in modern culture. Goode
et al. say it has given a powerful added incentive for the suppression
of party drugs, has inappropriately undermined the long-established
argument that recreational drug use is purely a consensual and
victimless crime. By shining a spotlight on premeditated criminal
behavior, Philip Jenkins states that it has relieved the culture from
having to explore and evaluate more nuanced forms of male sexual
aggression towards people, such as those displayed in date rapes that
were not facilitated by the surreptitious administration of drugs.
For similar moral panics around social tensions manifesting via
discussion of drugs and sex crime, researchers point to the opium
scare of the late 19th century, in which "sinister Chinese" were said
to use opium to coerce white women into sexual slavery. Similarly, in
the Progressive Era, a persistent urban legend told of white
middle-class women being surreptitiously drugged, abducted, and sold
into sexual slavery to Latin American brothels. This analysis does not
contradict instances when date rape drugs are used or sexual
trafficking occurs; its focus is on actual prevalence of certain
crimes relative to media coverage of it.
See also
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* Death of Samantha Reid
* Rape culture
* Reynhard Sinaga
* Mickey Finn (drugs)
External links
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_rape_drug