Date rape means the rape of a person by an acquaintance; the rapist is usually a woman's date or escort and is usually male. A date rape drug, also known as a predator drug is any drug that is used to assist in carrying out a sexual assault, such as date rape. Such drugs may have sedative, hypnotic, dissociative and/or amnesiac effects. They are usually added to the victims drink without her knowledge. More rarely, they may be added to her food. The act of adding such drugs to drinks is known as drink spiking. People may spike drinks for maliciousness, personal amusement, kidnapping, theft or sexual assault (rape).
Although victims of date rape drugs may also be male, the vast majority are female. Therefore, the pronouns in this text which refer to the victim will be she, her, or herself.
Date rape not only includes spiking a drink and sexually assaulting a woman. The meaning also includes trying to weaken the female's resistance by exerting excessive psychological pressure. However, in the vast majority of cases today, the term date rape includes spiking her drink without her knowledge.
Frequently, the woman has no memory of the sexual assault, either because of the amnesiac effects of the substance used to control her, or because of the traumatic nature of the event.
Drink spiking may also include the addition of alcohol to a person's soft drink without their knowledge, or giving them a stronger dose of alcohol than they asked for or expected. In cases of date rape the term may also refer to mind-altering drugs. A mind-altering substance affects how the individual acts or behaves with others.
According to the National Health Service (NHS), UK, individuals who regularly drink too much alcohol are at most risk from drink spiking.
Symptoms of drink spiking depend on several factors - whether just alcohol was added, another drug, what type of drug, and how much alcohol the victim has already consumed. Victims will need to have their blood or urine tested to confirm that their drink has been spiked.
Drink spiking is illegal, regardless of what the perpetrator's intention was - even if no attack or assault occurred, it is still illegal. In the UK drink spiking carries a punishment of up to ten years in prison for the person found guilty of doing it. If the perpetrator then attacked, raped or robbed the victim, the punishment will be more severe.
How common is drink spiking?
It is virtually impossible to have accurate figures regarding the incidence of drink spiking nationally. Many victims do not report cases, while others may put down their "black out" to the effects of too much alcohol.
As media coverage of date rape and drink spiking has grown, so has the impression that the problem is a new and ever-growing one.
Some small studies in the United Kingdom appear to suggest that a significantly small percentage of people who report that their drink had been spiked actually had positive blood or urine test results. Nobody is sure why this is so. Some believe that increased awareness of drink spiking has made more people assume it happened to them, when in fact they may just have had too much to drink, were experiencing exhausting, or low blood sugar levels. It is also possible that the substances used to control victims left their system rapidly - an illegal substance may have entered the victim, but by the time their blood or urine is tested levels of it have dropped too low to be detected.
If a victim's soft drink has been spiked with alcohol it is extremely difficult to prove that a crime occurred.
The National Health Service (NHS), UK reports that in 2007, one telephone helpline received 600 reports of drug-related rape and sexual assault.
Authorities advise anybody who suspects they have had their drink spiked to inform the police, and seek medical attention. The human body may react in unpredictable ways to unknown substances. It is also vital that the victim be with people she trusts implicitly and who will be able to look after her. The perpetrator can only be caught and punished if people report it.
What are the signs and symptoms of drink spiking?
A symptom is something the patient senses and describes, while a sign is something other people, such as the doctor notice. For example, drowsiness may be a symptom while dilated pupils may be a sign.
The signs and symptoms of drink spiking vary and depend mainly on what substance has been used, the victims age, body size, how much of the spiked drink has been consumed, and how much alcohol has been drunk.
The substance that was slipped into the victim's drink may be a liquid or powder; it often has no taste or odor.
The most common substances used in drink spiking are date rape drugs. Date rape drugs make it much more difficult for the victims to respond defensively to an assault. According to the National Health Service, UK, the most common date rape drugs are:
GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, or sodium oxybate) - according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA, has effects that are very similar to those of alcohol. This substance is used by doctors to treat cataplexy (patient suddenly feels weak and collapses at moments of strong emotion, such as laughter, anger, fear or surprise) and excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy. When used as a date rape drug it comes in the form of a slightly oily, colorless, liquid, and less often as a powder.
This substance may also be informally known as G, Georgia home boy, grievous bodily harm, liquid ecstasy.
GBl (gamma-butyrolactone). It has also been used in a medical setting as a general anesthetic, to treat conditions such as insomnia, clinical depression, narcolepsy, and alcoholism, and to improve athletic performance. When GBI enters the body it turns into GHB. When used as a date rape drug it comes in the form of a liquid.
Benzodiasepines, such as valium or rohypnol - these drugs are primarily used for the treatment of anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia and some other conditions. Some benzodiazepines have powerful sedative (calming), motor-impairing (loss or limitation of function in muscle control or movement) and amnestic (causing loss of memory) properties. When used as a date rape drug they may come in many different forms. Rohypnol is usually a pill that dissolves in liquid.
Rohypnol is the brand name of flunitrazepam, and is a part of the Valium family, but 10 times more potent. Hoffman LaRoche, the company that makes Rohypnol, revised the formula in 1998 so that a blue dye appears when it is added to any drink. The new formula also made it much slower to dissolve. However, counterfeit versions have been reported which do not have these added features.
These substances may also be informally known as forget-me pill, Mexican Valium, R2, Roche, roofies, rope, or rophies.
Ketamine - primarily used for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. It has a wide range of effects in humans, including analgesia (painkilling while still conscious), anesthesia (loss of feeling or awareness), hallucinations, elevated blood pressure (hypertension), and bronchodilation (expansion of the bronchial air passages). When used as a date rape drug it usually comes in the form of a grainy white powder or a tablet
All these substances slow down the victim's nervous system - they are depressants. They dull the victim's responses, judgment and instincts. Although these medications can be helpful when treating certain conditions, they may leave the victim vulnerable to danger when taken unknowingly and not in a medical setting.
Victims who take these substances unwittingly may behave quite differently and give out messages they would not normally give - people can more easily take advantage of them.
Some date rape drugs act very fast - having an effect within minutes of being taken, while others may take up to an hour. The following signs and symptoms are possible:
Light headedness
Drowsiness
Simultaneously feeling too hot and too cold
Concentration difficulties
Confusion (especially after waking up)
Disorientation (especially after waking up)
Difficulty moving
Difficulty speaking
Paranoia
Slow heart rate
Lowered social inhibitions
Memory loss (amnesia) - the victim cannot recall what happened, or large sections of the previous evening; sometimes referred to as a black out
Out of body experience - the person feels as if they are floating above their body, there is a loss of sensation
Blurred vision
Hallucinations - this may involve hearing, seeing or touching things that are not there
Nausea
Vomiting
Unconsciousness
If mixed with alcohol, date rape drugs have a very strong anesthetic effect. There is a raised risk of unconsciousness, coma and even death.
In most cases, signs and symptoms start to ease off after 3 to 7 hours. However, this may vary. Some victims wake up next morning still with nausea, confusion and amnesia.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the following signs and symptoms are listed according to the date rape drug used:
GHB signs and symptoms
Drowsiness
Dizziness
Slow heart rate
Nausea
Loss of consciousness
Inability to remember what happened while drugged
Seizures
Coma, death
Ketamine signs and symptoms
Hallucinations
Lost sense of time and identity
Agitation, aggressive or violent behavior
Convulsions
Loss of consciousness
Loss of coordination
Potentially fatal respiratory failure
Rohypnol signs and symptoms
Lower blood pressure
Sleepiness
Muscle relaxation or loss of muscle control
Visual disturbances
Loss of consciousness
Problems talking
Inability to remember what happened while drugged
Nausea
Alcohol - still the most commonly used date rape drug. Experts say it is popular for two main reasons:
It readily available, legally.
Victims are usually willing to consume it; making it easier for the assailant to get them to consume enough to lose inhibitions or consciousness.
Even if the victims eventually agreed to have sex, if their judgment was incapacitated or impaired by alcohol in some jurisdictions the act may be considered as rape. If the victim becomes unconscious after drinking too much alcohol and the assailant rapes her, it is called rape of convenience. According to some studies carried out in the UK and Australia a significant proportion of victims who thought their drink had been spiked with illegal substances had become intoxicated with only alcohol (no other associated substances were found in the their blood or urine).
What to do if you believe/suspect your drink has been spiked
The victim's main aim is to protect herself from harm. According to the National Health Service (NHS), UK, she should find someone she trusts completely and have them take her to the emergency department of a hospital for treatment.
If the victim starts feeling drunk after having consumed a small amount of alcohol she should seek out somebody she can trust, this can be a relative, a good friend or a senior member of the management of the establishment (pub, club) she is in. She should be taken to a place of safety.
If the victim is with strangers she should contact a trusted friend or relative and ask them to pick her up.
This trustworthy companion should remain with the victim until the substance has completely left her system - this will usually mean being with her until the next morning. There is a risk the victim's symptoms may worsen and she may need further medical attention. If she experiences hallucinations, drowsiness, or vomiting she should be taken to the emergency department of a hospital. When arriving at the hospital tell the medical team that you think her drinks have been spiked. The patient may be asked to provide a blood or urine sample for testing.
Substances may stay in the patient's system for 12 to 72 hours, depending on what it was and how much was taken. Prompt testing helps detect any unusual substances before it has left the system. GHB is usually undetectable in urine 12-18 hours later (6-8 hours in blood samples).
If blood and/or urine tests show that the victim's drinks were spiked the police will be informed. Spiking a person's drink is a criminal offence, regardless of the perpetrator's intentions (even if it was just for a laugh, it is still a criminal offence).
Assault, robbery - if the victim has been assaulted or robbed they should report the incident to the police, with information regarding the assailant(s), what was robbed, and how the attack occurred. The police will also record any details about injuries.
Rape or sexual assault - if the victim has been raped she should seek medical attention. The medical team will also recommend screening for any sexual transmitted disease (STIs), and pregnancy. In the UK and many other countries, it is up to the victim whether the incident be reported to the police. While the victim is deciding forensic results can be taken and stored.
How to avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking
As most substances used for drink spiking have no taste, smell or visible peculiarities, the best way to protect yourself is to take measures to prevent drink spiking from occurring in the first place. The following tips may help reduce the risk:
Hold on to your drink - do not leave your drink alone, hold it in your hand for as much time as you can. If you are holding a bottle hold your thumb or a finger over the opening. Some establishments have stopper devices you can place on bottles to keep them closed (or take one yourself). Do not leave your drink unattended - even when you go to the toilet.
If you are with a trustworthy friend, keep an eye on each others' drinks.
Never accept a drink from a stranger
Never accept a drink from somebody you do not trust 100%.
Remember that it is harder to spike a bottle than a glass. Whenever you can, ask for the bottle, and have it opened in front of you (or open it yourself).
Remove yourself from any situation which makes you feel uncomfortable.
If you have just met a stranger, do not tell them too much about yourself. Do not give details of your address. If you are alone in the establishment, do not let them know this.
If you are on a date with a stranger make sure people you trust know about it, where you are going, and what time you should be back.
Beware of objects which may attract attention, such as expensive watches, jewelry, cell phones and MP3 players.
Drink responsibly. Remember that alcohol can impair your judgment and make you more vulnerable. Avoid becoming drunk as perpetrators often prey on vulnerable individuals.
Remember that if you go in a group your risk of being manipulated is less, especially if you all agree to keep an eye on each other.
If you arrive as a group, leave as a group.
Tell as many people as you can about the effects of these dangerous substances.
Be on the lookout all the time. Do not become complacent.
Testing kits - there are some kits you can use that test your drink to determine whether it has been spiked. They may not detect every substance there is. Remember that tests which darken the color of a drink to indicate a positive result will be no good if the original drink, such as a cola, is already dark. If you think your drink has been spiked tell the management of the establishment immediately.
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