Posted on 11/08/2004 5:36:31 PM PST by wagglebee
More than one in four sexual assaults occur after a woman has been drugged by her assailant, according to new Canadian research.
The study, published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, shows that the incidence of so-called ''date-rape drugging'' has increased dramatically in the past decade.
It also reveals that the vast majority of those who are drugged, then raped, are teenagers aged 15 to 19.
The study, conducted by a team led by Margaret McGregor of the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia, is believed to be the first to measure the extent of date-rape drugging.
Researchers found that, in 2002, 10.7 females in every 100,000 women were victims of date-rape drugging. That is up from 3.4 in every 100,000 women prior to 1998.
Among teenagers, the increase is much more pronounced, rising to 59.3 per 100,000 girls in 2002, from 15 per 100,000 girls prior to 1998.
The research was conducted at the B.C. Women's Sexual Assault Service, a large referral and counselling program located in the emergency room of B.C. Women's Hospital. The centre deals with more than 250 cases of sexual assault that occur annually in the greater Vancouver area.
Dr. McPherson said the typical "drug-facilitated" sexual assault involves a woman consuming one or two alcoholic beverages and passing out.
She said a broad range of prescription and non-prescription drugs are used to disinhibit or sedate the victim to facilitate the sexual assault.
These drugs include the so-called date-rape drugs Rohypnol and GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate), as well as a number of other lesser-known but easily available sedatives, such as lorazepam, clonazepam, zopiclone and chloral hydrate. All these drugs cause drowsiness and loss of inhibition, along with memory loss.
Another characteristic of date-rape drugs is that they are rapidly absorbed by the body, and rapidly excreted, so there is little evidence of the drugging.
Dr. McPherson said there appears to be a "significant and sustained trend" toward using these drugs. She pointed to easy access to "date-rape kits," which can be easily purchased on the Web.
Dr. McPherson said the increase in reported cases could be part of greater awareness. But, because the number of sexual assault cases that do not involve drugging have remained steady, she believes the increases are real.
As part of the study, researchers examined media reports of date-rape drugs. They found the first reports in the Canadian media were in 1995. Since then, there has been a steady rise in cases.
The researchers say the media coverage may be contributing to the problem: This "Melbourne effect" was seen most directly in a huge spike in drug-facilitated sexual assaults after a case in that Australian city received a lot of media attention.
To conduct the new study, researchers examined 1,594 sexual assaults that were reported to the Sexual Assault Service between 1993 and 2002. A total of 246 cases, 15.4 per cent, were deemed to be drug-facilitated sexual assaults.
Eleven of the victims were male, and 235 were female.
Dr. McPherson said the increasing use of drugs that cause amnesia has implications for the treatment of women who have been victims of sexual assault. It is particularly difficult and challenging to counsel women who are "unsure what may or may not have happened," she said, and the drugs make it more difficult to pursue criminal charges.
Only about 10 per cent of all sexual assaults are reported to authorities.
That's another thing. I don't even leave bottled water unattended. It's just not wise to leave drinks unattended.
Hey little girl, want some candy ? LOL
There should not be a presumptive blame and legal responsibility put on a male just because of his gender. But there is and you won't here feminists demand equality because this perverse slanting of the law works in their favor.
hehehe only if it's vodka jello!
Where did you get all that from? Did you see where it said these cases are hard to prove? A lot of girls DON'T report date rape even they're fully in control of their senses.
Guys have been using this trick since alcohol was invented, using drugs can be dangerous, you never know what allergys a person might have.
-- e.e.cummings
A libertarian heaven on earth.
I was in Winnepeg on business a few years ago and was amazed to see all of the young kids in bars. I asked a few of the locals and they told me about the drinking age. I also remember driving through town and seeing all of the bankruptcy firms and a bunch of pregnancy counseling/baby butchering centers.
I cant tell you how many times I tried to get date raped. Hell, I even tried drugging myself a few times, still no luck. ;-(
Congratulations to your nephew. It seems that he had good parents growing up and learned right from wrong and what to do when he saw wrong.
It disgusts me to no end to see others in this thread thinking that this subject is funny and a big joke. I think their attitude would certainly be adjusted if this happened to a woman or young lady from their family.
Actually, the opposite is true here. We have none of the binge-drinking or alcohol poisonings common at American universities because alcohol, being legal, is no big deal. The campus pub is for socializing, not for getting too hammered to function.
"warning my daughter not to take drinks from anyone except the bartender"
Unfortunately, there have been several cases where it was the bartender himself who was doing the drugging. He'd dope the drinks and then signal his friends who were waiting to guide the woozy woman away from the bar where they could attack.
Tell her to ask for bottled beer and bring her own opener. When it comes to safety, paranoia is your best friend.
18 in Manitoba, Alberta, and Quebec. 19 everywhere else.
-- e.e.cummings
That's not cummings. That's Ogden Nash.
So we at the Globe and Mail are only too happy to do our part.
"Let me see here... in some of these cases you can't test for it, many of these folks were underage drinkers... but there's no responsibility at all on their parts? At least "some of these persons had to "know" what they were getting into..."
Just so I understand your logic, if an underage woman drinks alcohol, she assumes the risk that some dirtbag might drug said drink and then rape her? Geez. Glad I never went to one of your keg parties.
And you're wrong. They can test for the drugs directly or for particular breakdown chemicals that prove that the drugs have been in one's system.
I can only shake my head at your lamentation over the hordes of gals who, to paraphrase, like to slut it up and then cry rape in regret. Frankly, you sound a tad like the islamo-nuts who, acting on the theory that only women who allow themselves to get raped ever actually get raped, then kill them for being whores.
whoops... i'm doing that a lot lately! neurons all shot.
Good point.
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