News Summary from Join Together, October 29, 2009

Women who have lost control or consciousness due to excessive drinking have fueled what British researchers have termed the "urban legend" of drinks being spiked with so-called "date-rape" drugs, according to a new study.

The Telegraph reported Oct. 27 that Kent University researchers who studied 200 students found that many blamed their incapacitation on alleged spiking of drinks with drugs like Rohypnol or GHB when, in fact, they had drank to excess. Researchers concluded that many drinkers were in denial about their level of alcohol use and its debilitating effects.

Three-quarters of those surveyed cited drink spiking as a major risk in sexual assault -- far more than saw the risk in being drunk, taking drugs, or walking alone at night. But police say there's no evidence that rape victims are commonly drugged before attacks.
"Young women appear to be displacing their anxieties about the consequences of consuming what is in the bottle on to rumors of what could be put there by someone else," said researcher Adam Burgess. "The reason why fear of drink-spiking has become widespread seems to be a mix of it being more convenient to guard against than the effects of alcohol itself and the fact that such stories are exotic -- like a more adult version of 'stranger danger.'"

"We would be very interested in finding out whether the urban myth of spiking is also the result of parents feeling unable to discuss with their adult daughters how to manage drinking and sex and representing their anxieties about this through discussion of drink spiking risks," added researcher Sarah Moore.
The study was published in the November 2009 issue of the British Journal of Criminology.

Correction: The original version of this summary erroneously stated, "But police say there's no evidence that rape suspects are commonly drugged before attacks." This should have referred to rape victims. The error, which we regret, has been corrected; thanks to our readers for alerting us to the mistake.

This article summarizes an external report or press release on research published in a scientific journal. When available, links to the sources are provided above.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:
Posted by Debra on 30 Oct 09 10:13 AM EDT
I have been a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE-A, SANE-P certified through IAFN) for 10 years. I agree completely with the finding in this study. It is however, very difficult to prove if drugs were involved in the rape. Because the urine/blood screens, in many instances, are not sensitive enough to pick up a one time/single dose of a drug in a patients urine/blood. Many drugs when used in combination with alcohol to potentiate its effects are not even screened for in some screening panels---Benadryl for example. A patient generally report several hours after the incident especially if drugs or alcohol, in excess or by malice, is involved because they are unresponsive and unaware of what happened. The first urine may be missed and the subsequent urine may not contain enough metabolite to show positive on screening. During a sexual assault exam is the the right time to be doing drug or alcohol interventions with the patient. Many clients feel guilty and shamed regarding the event. Our focus is on the clients health and safety, physical, emotional and medical well being and reempowering them to regain a sense of control in their life. With that said it is important to also remember that even if a client is extremely intoxicated, under there own doing, sexual assault is a crime. And a client who is intoxicated certainly does not have the mental capacity to consent to sexual contact.

Posted by Vetanalyst on 30 Oct 09 10:50 AM EDT
This reinforces the need to increase public understanding of basic concepts of intoxication, its effects, and risks posed to health and safety. These concepts have been applied to impaired driving and underage drinking, but many other life situations are ignored or trivialized as harmless fun and desirable "socializing."

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