Sexual assault and drug use

• ALSO KNOWN AS: Date rape; drug-facilitated sexual assault

DEFINITION: Sexual assault is any form of sexual activity, including rape and sexual harassment, where consent is not freely given. Drug use is defined as the use or misuse of any legal or illicit psychoactive, mood-altering chemical, including alcohol, marijuana, stimulants, hallucinogens, benzodiazepines, sedatives, and opiates.

Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, sexual assault includes the nonconsensual acts of inappropriate touching; vaginal, anal, or oral penetration (rape); attempted rape; and child molestation. Sexual assault can be verbal, visual, or involve coercive physical attempts to engage another person in unwanted sexual contact or attention.

Sexual assault often involves the use of psychoactive mood-altering drugs and alcohol. Research varies, but between 30 and 70 percent of all rapes and other forms of sexual assault in a given year in the United States involve alcohol use by the offender. Some studies estimate that drugs other than alcohol are involved in approximately 15–20 percent of sexual assaults.

Drug-facilitated sexual assault involves the administration of drugs that usually induce amnesia in the victim. This type of assault often occurs in bars or nightclubs. The drug is usually slipped into an alcoholic beverage without the victim’s knowledge. These drugs are often referred to as date rape drugs, the most common of which are sedative-hypnotics such as gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), Rohypnol, and ketamine. Other commonly used drugs in instances of sexual assault include sleep aids, Benadryl, tranquilizers, ecstasy, molly, and Xanax (alprazolam). Recent forensic toxicology reports have also identified the growing presence of illicit or "designer" benzodiazepines—such as etizolam and flualprazolam—in drug-facilitated sexual assault cases. Although these substances are detected less frequently than GHB or ketamine, federal agencies note that their increasing availability in the illicit drug market has raised concern about their potential use in incapacitation.

Date rape is common during college years. Drugs and alcohol play significant roles in date rape, with as many as 75 percent of men and 50 percent of women in college involved in a sexual assault reporting having been under the influence at the time of the assault. In 80 percent of sexual assaults, the victim and perpetrator are known to each other, and more than 50 percent of sexual assaults occur close to the victim’s home. National crime data show that most reported offenders are male and disproportionately known to the victim; offender age ranges vary.

Neither drugs nor alcohol excuses a perpetrator from seeking sexual relations without consent. Programs to rehabilitate sex offenders attempt to help the offenders make the distinction that drugs and alcohol do not give license for sexual abuse. Drug and alcohol problems are considered separate from deviant sexual behavior.

Victims of Sexual Assault

The profile of an assault victim is generally female, aged twelve to thirty-four. Girls and women ages sixteen to nineteen are at the highest risk. Boys and men can also be victims of sexual assault. Across their lifetimes, approximately one in four women and one in six men experience sexual violence. Research indicates that about half of women and nearly one-third of men experience sexual violence involving physical contact. However, crime rates are often misleading when it comes to the statistical reportage of sexual assault and drug use. These crimes are vastly underreported because of a deep sense of shame, embarrassment, and guilt induced in the victim. Another factor leading to underreporting of sexual assault occurs because of the effect of drugs or alcohol on memory. Often, the drugs interfere with the recall of the assault, leaving victims unable to remember if they consented to engage in sex. This amnesia effect is one reason perpetrators employ date rape drugs.

Post-traumatic Stress and Self-Medication

Sexual assault, including rape, is a leading cause of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In general, women are ten times more likely to be victims of a sexual assault and two to three times more likely than men to develop PTSD. One of the leading risk factors of PTSD is sexual assault, which causes the victim to feel powerless.

Studies consistently demonstrate high rates of comorbidity between PTSD and substance abuse disorder. Specifically, there exists a strong relationship between drug use and victimization through sexual assault. Often, the victim of a sexual assault will use drugs and alcohol to self-medicate the symptoms of the trauma. Rates of substance abuse disorder are as high as 25–50 percent of the population of women diagnosed with PTSD, according to the National Comorbidity Study. An Office of Justice Programs report on substance abuse and victimization notes that victims of sexual assault are 5.3 percent more likely than nonvictims to use prescription drugs, 3.4 times more likely to use marijuana, and 10 times more likely to use hard drugs to cope with their assault.

However, there is a tendency to blame the victim because drugs are often involved at the time of sexual assault for both the perpetrator and the victim. This is also true when victimization leads to substance abuse, and the victim is further stigmatized. Research shows that being sexually assaulted puts one at a higher risk for repeated assault. For these reasons, research points to the need for gender-sensitive treatment to address sexual assault, PTSD, victimization, and empowerment.

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