Date rape drugs are sedating drugs that are usually illegally administered to individuals without their knowledge or consent, often added to the unknowing victim's drink at a bar, restaurant, or the site of a party. This practice is also known as a form of malicious poisoning. In most cases, date rape drugs are controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act. Date rape drugs cause sedation as well as a retrograde amnesia (memory loss) of what has occurred during the time that the victim was sedated and sexually assaulted. Not all date rape drugs are unknowingly used; some individuals selfadminister them.

In a study reported by the National Criminal Justice Service of 144 sexual assault victims, nearly 5 percent of the victims were administered date rape drugs without their knowledge or permission.

Some examples of date rape drugs are fentanyl, flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), carisoprodol (Soma), and ketamine. It is unknown how many individuals are sexually assaulted after they are given date rape drugs each year, and it is likely that many such rapes are never reported because of the confusion of the victim and the short time frame in which the drug remains in the body.

Date rape drugs enable the perpetrator to commit a sexual assault with no resistance. Often after the drug is administered, the perpetrator may appear to others as if he is assisting an individual intoxicated with alcohol. If the victim has ingested any alcohol prior to unknowingly consuming the date rape drug, then the drug often acts more quickly than otherwise. The perpetrator then removes the victim to a private location, where he or she is sexually molested. When victims regain consciousness, they may not know where they are. They may be naked or show signs of having been molested. Perpetrators may tell victims that they had agreed to have sex, or perpetrators may have left the scene altogether.

Under the Drug-Induced Rape Prevention Act of 1996 in the United States, individuals who use date rape drugs in order to facilitate a rape and/or a violent crime may be imprisoned for up to 20 years and be fined.

Most date rape victims are young adult females, but some males have been assaulted with date rape drugs, usually by other males.

Date rape drugs are generally odorless and colorless, and they will not show up on a toxicology screening unless the particular drug is tested for and within a short period. Often individuals who have been date raped do not report the assault to the police because they are embarrassed and fearful. They may mistakenly believe that they somehow bear some responsibility for what has happened to them. In some cases, they may be uncertain of what has happened and may not know whether they gave consent to sexual contact or not.

Say Fitzgerald and Riley in their article on date rape in the National Institute of Justice Journal, "Even when victims do suspect a drug-facilitated rape and seek help immediately, law enforcement agencies may not know how to collect evidence appropriately or how to test urine using the sensitive method required." As a result, often valuable evidence of the assault is lost with the passage of time.

Whenever possible, toxicology tests should be administered. Experts report that date rape drugs are more likely to show up in the urine than in the blood. The urine collection can occur prior to interviews by law enforcement officials and the forensic medical examination. Evidence of the crime should be sought.

Say Fitzgerald and Riley, "Drug-related evidence may be found in the glasses from which the victim drank, containers used to mix drinks, and trash cans where these items were discarded. In one case, traces of GHB were found in the box of salt that was used to make margaritas. GHB is often carried in small bottles, such as eyedrop bottles. It is often administered in sweet drinks, such as fruit nectars and liqueurs, to mask its salty taste." In addition, the offender may have a recipe for making GHB on a computer. Sometimes perpetrators videotape or photograph their victims while they were under the influence of the drug. Such evidence can also lead to other victims who have been similarly sexually assaulted.

Victims of date rapes report that they feel angry and powerless. They may feel that they have also suffered a form of "mind rape," in addition to the actual sexual assault. It can also be difficult for victims of date rape to hear others say that they think that it is better when the victim does not remember what happened, as opposed to being conscious and aware while the rape is occurring.

Sometimes, memories of the sexual assault may occur at a later time. But they may never come back. According to Gail Abarbanel in her article in National Institute of Justice Journal, victims of sexual assaults who were not administered date rape drugs may experience memory fragments or flashbacks.

She says, "For victims of drug-facilitated rapes, this aspect of the aftermath may be experienced differently. Because they cannot recall what happened during a significant time period, they have to cope with a gap in their memory. They experience the horror, powerlessness, and humiliation of not knowing what was done to them. They can only imagine what happened. One victim said, 'I would rather have the nightmare.' " (She means that she would rather have experienced the actual rape.)

References:

Abarbanel, Gail. "Learning from Victims." National Institute of Justice Journal, April 2000, 11-12.

Fitzgerald, Nora, and K. Jack Riley. "Drug Facilitated Rape: Looking for the Missing Pieces." National Institute of Justice Journal, April 2000, 8-15.

National Drug Intelligence Center. "Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault Fast Facts: Questions and Answers." Johnston, Pa.: National Drug Intelligence Center, 2004.

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