Summary
Over the past 10 years, the numbers of cases of what is commonly termed ‘date rape’ by the mass media and ‘drug-facilitated sexual assault’ (DFSA) in the scientific literature has increased. According to population surveys from six European countries, up to 20% of women in Europe have experienced some form of sexual assault during adulthood, but a lack of appropriate monitoring systems means that the full scale of DFSA remains unknown. As a result of the publicity the topic has received, women are increasingly aware of the risk of drugs being added covertly to their drinks for the purpose of sexual assault. However, issues about how to define and measure DFSA are inextricably linked with wider issues relating to sexual assault in general. For example issues about an individual's capacity to consent are implicated in definitions of sexual assault and public or police attitudes about the extent to which blame can be attributed to victims who are incapacitated as a result of their voluntary use of alcohol or drugs inevitably affect reporting rates. This paper explores new developments in the conceptualization of DFSA and highlights key responses and recommendations to address the phenomenon.
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Abstract
Over the past 10 years, there has been a rise in the number of reports of drugs being used covertly to incapacitate potential victims for the purpose of sexual assault. However, recent evidence from forensic studies indicates that alcohol is much more commonly implicated in cases of drug facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) when victims are too intoxicated to give consent. Campaigns that warn about the risk of becoming a victim, or even a perpetrator, of sexual assault by excessive use of alcohol are being increasingly promoted as a necessary step in addressing the problem. New recommendations from the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) and from the Council of Europe call for better monitoring of drug- and alcohol-facilitated sexual assault. However, public attitudes to sexual assault in the form of stereotyping and victim blaming are prevalent and entrenched and are widely recognized as barriers to reporting this type of crime. Population surveys suggest that up to 20% of women experience some form of sexual assault in their adult lifetime but reporting and conviction rates remain low. Monitoring DFSA will require a raft of changes, including improved methods of forensic analysis and training for police and hospital emergency staff.
- Open access
- English