The Date-Rape Drug Myth
This is a 2009 article I never saw -- just read it now thanks to a @CHSommers tweet.
A 2009 study by Dr. Adam Burgess in the British Journal of Criminology suggests that drink spiking with Rohypnol and GHB exists mainly as an urban legend, reports Stephen Adams at Telegraph/UK:
Among young people, drink spiking stories have attractive features that could "help explain" their disproportionate loss of control after drinking alcohol, the study found.Dr. Burgess said: "Our findings suggest guarding against drink spiking has also become a way for women to negotiate how to watch out for each other in an environment where they might well lose control from alcohol consumption."
Co-researcher Dr. Sarah Moore said: "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."
Nick Ross, chair of the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, commented: "There is no evidence of widespread use of hypnotics in sexual assault, let alone Rohypnol, despite many attempts to prove the contrary.
"During thousands of blood and alcohol tests lots of judgement-impairing compounds were discovered, but they were mostly street drugs or prescription pharmaceuticals taken by the victims themselves, and above all alcohol was the common theme.
"As Dr. Burgess observes, it is not scientific evidence which keeps the drug rape myth alive but the fact that it serves so many useful functions."
Dr. Burgess and his team questioned more than 200 students at universities in London and south east England.
Earlier this year, Australian researchers found that not one of 97 young men and women admitted to hospital over 19 months to two Perth hospital claiming to have had their drinks spiked, had in fact been drugged.
Too bad nobody's invented myth-detecting nail polish.
It mainly affects pretty young white women of course there's an overblown mythical proportions concern.
I was reading a story about a guy who got drugged (spiked drink) and raped by woman and the people around him told him men can't be raped or physically assaulted.
What.the.fuck.
Ppen at August 24, 2014 12:56 AM
Pen, the thing about stories like that is that we'd have to ask "What happened?" in order to develop enthusiasm for a prosecution, and with grown men, that's almost never worth the trouble.
Homosexual rape? Sure. Savage fondling by a psychotic older woman? Absolutely.
But just to say "rape" with respect to an adult male? One who's been drinking in the context under discussion?
Given the gender proportions for righteous deployment of the word "rape" in modern life, it's just not the part of the problem we need to first think about.
Rape and assault are different.
Re: the blog post, I've chattered before about something Pinsky used to say on his radio show, paraphrasing: Careful listeners will notice that women often say it was their second or third drink that was spiked....'
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at August 24, 2014 1:41 AM
Also----
If there were "Myth-detecting Findernail Polish," I'd wear it...
I wouldn't care if it was a Screaming Mimi shade of pink.
I'm halfway through the sixth decade, but have yet to meet the man so masculine that he didn't need a little help detecting bullshit.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at August 24, 2014 1:53 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/08/24/the_date-rape_d.html#comment-4971306">comment from PpenMore men are raped in the USA than women, I believe, because of the number of prison rapes. This is not part of anyone's sentence, and if we are sending people to prison, we owe it to them to see that this doesn't happen. Even if it's expensive.
Amy Alkon at August 24, 2014 2:47 AM
I'm trying to understand this better, so I am asking questions based on my own experiences. I'm 51 years old and I have had two experiences when I have become drunk out if proportion to the alcohol that I consumed. I never thought that I was drugged, but I was certainly puzzled. Others even suggested that I was indeed drugged. No one used the opportunity for sex so the incidents were not traumatic.
How much could be attributed to a heavy hand while mixing the drinks? How much normal variable is there in the way we handle alcohol and what are the contributing factors?
I basically have a pretty high tolerance for alcohol. I can feel pretty normal with 7 or so drinks usually. I apologized for being a little tipsy once at that level and my friend said that she couldn't tell at all. That is why the anomalies stand out. Once as a teenager, I ordered 2 rum and cokes. I started to feel dizzy on the second drink so I stopped drinking and left to no ill effect other than cutting my night short. The other time was about 5 years ago. My husband and I enjoyed a nice meal in an upscale restsurant. I had a small glass of wine with dinner and drank another 1/2 glass at the bar after dinner. I don't remember much after getting in the car. What explains that? Could wine have that much of an affect? Was it due to fatigue? I'm so curious.
Jen at August 24, 2014 7:25 AM
It was interesting to look up another article linked from the abstract page:
Feeding the title into a search engine, I was able to find a PDF that wasn't behind a pay wall.
I've spoken with women who want rape to be considered completely the fault of the man who rapes. What's more, the same desire extends to "sexual harassment" which is extended to mean "anything that makes a woman feel uncomfortable". (A couple of ladies have told me they should be able to walk into a venue naked and not be gawked at.) So safety advice is rejected as "granting permission to men to rape and harass."
Karl Lembke at August 24, 2014 8:42 AM
For every crime, there are things potential victims can do to reduce their exposure: don't leave your keys in the ignition, don't walk through a Crip neighborhood wearing Blood colors, etc. No one calls it "blaming the victim" if you suggest that people take such measures--except, for reasons I don't understand, in the case of rape.
Rex Little at August 24, 2014 9:23 AM
Jen "How much could be attributed to a heavy hand while mixing the drinks?" "
Quite a bit, especially with non pro bartenders and mixed drinks. Back when drank, I prefered my captain + cokes on the strong side and knew a couple bartenders who would routinely double it.
How much normal variable is there in the way we handle alcohol and what are the contributing factors? "
A lot of variability. Main contributors are: how dehydrated you are, any food in your stomach, your body weight, fatigue, illness or other conditions, other meds/drugs taken, etc.
For me another reason, used to hang with people who brewed, so alcohol content was often a bit variable.
Personally the worst hangovers and fastest hitting I ever had was 3 drinks, a hot August day and 3 days after giving blood. I was probably seriously dehydrated and didn't realize it, and my body was saying ah liquid straight into the bloodstream.
After that I wouldn't touch a drop within a week of a donation.
Joe J at August 24, 2014 9:49 AM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2732144/Will-nail-polish-stop-sexual-assault-Male-science-students-develop-manicure-changes-color-exposed-date-rape-drugs.html
Dex at August 24, 2014 9:59 AM
But just to say "rape" with respect to an adult male? One who's been drinking in the context under discussion?
Florida statutes are clear: anyone who has sex with a person unable to give consent for any reason including being legally drunk has committed a felony sexual assault.
Of course, that puts us in the ridiculous situation of two drunk people sexually assaulting each other.
I R A Darth Aggie at August 24, 2014 10:02 AM
Jen,
Most likely you were sick and didn't notice. I've seen my alcohol tolerance drop dramatically when I have just a touch of flu or cold. Not enough for me to really feel off, but just a little slow or congested.
Ben at August 24, 2014 10:14 AM
Once as a teenager, I ordered 2 rum and cokes. I started to feel dizzy on the second drink so I stopped drinking and left to no ill effect other than cutting my night short.
Depends on the rum. Standard rums are 80 or 100 proof. An exception: 151. So a single 151 is like a double shot of 80. I'd be surprised you didn't notice the liquid lightning in your cup, tho, unless it was a very large cup?
I can't explain your issue with the wine. There are no 151 wines, upper end for wine is 16 or 20% - sherries and ports get to near 20%. To get above that, you have to distill.
Any medications? that's the only thing I can think of. If I'm tired, and get some booze in me, it's off to bed. But I've been able to remember - it can be a bit fuzzy, or even hard to recollect, it just has to be teased out...
I R A Darth Aggie at August 24, 2014 10:15 AM
(A couple of ladies have told me they should be able to walk into a venue naked and not be gawked at.) So safety advice is rejected as "granting permission to men to rape and harass."
White middle-to-upper middle class women?
I mean, as a pasty faced white boy, I'd like to think that I can walk thru Compton, Harlem, or even Frenchtown without being murdered, mugged, or raped (preferably in that order) if I walk thru there at 3am, but I'm not eager to find out.
I R A Darth Aggie at August 24, 2014 10:20 AM
As it happens, yes.
Maybe they should be told to "check their privilege".
Karl Lembke at August 24, 2014 7:04 PM
I'm willing to believe that claims of date rape are more frequent than the reality, but I have an acquaintance who did have a drink spiked, and her heart stopped,right in the bar. Fortunately the paramedics saved her life. That was no double, nor dehydration.
My daughters weren't grounded for life, but they knew enough to not leave friends alone and watch over their drinks when they did go out.
MarkD at August 26, 2014 4:10 AM
When two drunk individuals have sex, was is it always (legally) the male as aggressor and the female as victim regardless of who was "drunker" or who started feeling up who?
When two teenagers have sex, why is it the teenage boy is always the one at risk for legal charges and the teenage girl coddled and cooed over regardless of who said "Let's get in the back seat"?
Curious minds want to know! I want to know!!
Uno Hu at August 28, 2014 9:39 PM
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