Proliferation of Date Rape Drugs - Essay Example

? Proliferation of Rape Drugs Proliferation of Rape Drugs Introduction For decades, society has largely viewedrape as the forcing of sexual intercourse by one person onto another. The victim would usually be conscious of what is going on, willy forcibly try to resist, only to be forced to live out the horror on sexual actions that were not consented to. In recent years, however, a more ‘silent’ type of rape is occurring whereby one person drugs another, thereby making them much more amenable to sexual behavior that they may or may not be able to even remember taking place in the first place. Make no mistake about this, rape of this sort is still rape. Sex must be consensual by two rational beings, yet society has long since muddied the reality of this point. As a result, it is important to now understand the proliferation of date rape drugs that are rampant in society. In so doing, we need to better comprehend how the drugs are most often delivered into the body, understand the current trends in rape being committed in such a manner. and work to eliminate this threat from much of larger of society. That is the focus of this paper. Drug Delivery Methods To comprehend what types of delivery methods are employed for date rape drugs, one must first understand the nature of the concept in the first place. The more technical term for date rape is drug facilitated sexual assault. Such assaults take place primarily because of the ingestion of one of many substances into the body that alters an individuals ability to make wise and rational choices, particularly when it comes to sexual activity. There are numerous ways that a predator might accomplish this in his or victim. Perhaps the most common delivery method is through the use of alcohol. Alcohol is both legal and readily available. As such, it presents itself as the perfect way to get a victim to become uninhibited and become an easy target of sexual abuse. For these reasons, and others, alcohol is believed to be the most common form of date rape ‘drug’ used in such forced sexual encounters. The typical sequence of events for such an occurrence would be the encouraging of a women to continue drinking far past what would be considered safe limits. Over time, the victim will tend to lose consciousness, and then the rape will be much easier to perpetuate. In nearly all legal jurisdictions, sexual intercourse with someone who is unconscious is considered to be rape. The use of various forms of tranquillizers are are also becoming an increasingly common delivery vehicle. Such drugs typically come in the form of Valium, Librium, Xanax, or Ativan. A predator using this particular delivery mechanism will typically slip the drug into the victim’s drink without them being aware. The effects can of taking the drug will be noticed within 15 to 20 minutes. Within two hours, the victim will become very relaxed and sleepy, and their reaction times will be severely diminished (Weir, 2001). As such, their ability to make sound decisions is severely hampered, causing them to submit to sexual actions that they would never agree to when not under the effects of a date rape drug. Current Trends Many predators committing date rape today have gotten so advanced at the practice that the victims often do not realise what has happened to them until it is far too late to prove any allegations. Recent studies have indicated that more than 38% of individuals who believe they have been victims of date rape test positive for excessive alcohol in their system, even hours after the attack. A full 8% test positive for some form of drug being administered into their blood stream, while 40% actually have no noticeable date rape drug in their system at all (Peatfield and Villalon, 2013). It is disturbing to note that many people who believe that their drinks have been spiked test negative for any date rape drugs. This indicates that the current trend in this area is towards a more crafty predator that can quickly overpower the victim, cause them to either be unconscious or unable to make rational decisions, commit the rape, and then get out of the picture before their crime is realized. As the victim becomes aware of what has happened, they either cannot remember the details, or too much time has lapsed to prove the actual administration of drugs took place. As such, it is becoming more difficult to prove cases of date rape, as the physical signs typically associated with such attacks are not readily apparent. Instead, physical appearances indicate that the sexual encounter was consensual, even though it was not, because the administration of various date rape drugs currently available to sexual predators have become so advanced that they become nearly undetectable unless the perpetrator is caught in the act. Eliminating the Threat The primary way to eliminate this threat moving forward is through extensive public awareness campaigns. Since the typical victim of date rape is female, it is important to educate this demographic group about the importance of remaining vigilant when in a group setting. By being aware of their surroundings, monitoring who has access to the drinks that are being poured, and refraining for the ingestion of any drugs at a party, women can help protect themselves from the threat. Because date rape drugs can be administered quite easily, and without detection, such a campaign aimed at making the public aware of this growing growing threat seems to be the most prudent course of action. In addition, moving forward, the penalties for date rape predators should be enhanced and be displayed more openly in the public arena. By developing enhanced techniques for the discovery of date rape drugs in the blood stream, law enforcement officials will be able to more quickly prove that such an attack did indeed happen. This, combined with harsher penalties for such attacks, can serve as a deterrent to would be predators that seek to commit sexual assaults in such a manner. In the end, the public needs to raise awareness, and penalties need to be harsh, in order for a dent in this serious crime against women to be realized. References Peatfield, R., and Villalon, C. M. (2013). Headache after exposure to date rape drugs. Springer Plus, 2(1), 1-3. Weir, E. (2011). Drug facilitated date rape. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 165(1), 80. Read More