R is for Rohypnol and other date-rape drugs
There’s a scene in Roddy Doyle's The Snapper where a fifty-something neighbour takes advantage of a helplessly drunk young woman, on a car bonnet - and mutters "Good girl, Sharon", while zipping up afterwards. Doyle’s gritty tale of Dublin life is deliberately pictured as far less sensational than if she had been knocked out with a "rape drug", but probably much more true to life.
The commonly held stereotype of an unwanted sexual assault is that it is a pre-planned action perpetrated by a ‘weirdo’ preying on a lone young female. Such attacks in reality form a small part of the overall figures (less than 10%). Most victims know who their assailant is, commonly a family member, colleague or friend.
People still debate as to whether or not Sharon Curley expressed consent despite the fact that the book confirms that she was raped. Sharon herself consciously chooses not to report it because she doesn’t recognise it as rape. She goes on to claim it was a Spanish sailor who fathered her ‘Snapper’. It may have been her way of deflecting the shame that she felt over becoming pregnant, whatever the circumstances. The Snapper is set in the 1980s, a time when some Magdalene Laundries were still fully operating. Girls her age were still being institutionalized for getting pregnant.
That reluctance to report a sexual assault still remains despite the best efforts of organizations such as the six Sexual Assault Treatment Units (SATU’s) distributed throughout Ireland and operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are also sixteen Rape Crisis Centres (RCC’s) who also offer support.
There are many reasons as to why assaults are not reported. Significant reasons include a belief that the victim won’t be listened to and the belief that once reported the Gardai must become involved in the case and proceed to a criminal investigation. Men especially are reluctant to report such date-rape incidents whether by men or women, or both.
Another key reason for the under-reporting is the role of substance use. If the victim has used drink or drugs they may feel, in part at least, responsible for the situation. They way a person acts, dresses or conducts themselves is always irrelevant. What matters is that consent is given and that consent needs to be for any sexual act, it cannot be something that is implied, presumed or gained through intimidation. When only the victim has used a substance then the issue of consent is usually clear as they cannot reasonably be said to have given it. When both parties have been drinking or using drugs together establishing the principle of consent can be a bit more problematic, both at the time and if the incident ends up in the courtroom.
Sharon’s example involved alcohol, the most commonly used ‘date-rape’ drug. When reported in the media an impression can be created that other drugs are commonly involved. In study after study the spiking of drinks with more alcohol has been noted as the prime enabler for sexual assault. In many of these cases the victim believed that they drink had been spiked with another drug.
A study conducted at Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) in the Rotunda hospital, Dublin in 2000 tested 21 people for Rohypnol. All results came back negative, with 19 having taken considerable amounts of alcohol. All of the victims believed their drink had been spiked with another drug.
In legal terms the use of a legal drug such as alcohol as opposed to an illegal one that is supplied without consent should not make any difference as regards the decision to prosecute and how the courts deal with the alleged offence. In reality it has been more difficult to achieve a conviction where the victim has willingly consumed the drug in question.
With that caveat in mind we will now examine a couple of those drugs in more detail:
Flunitrazepam, also known as Rohypnol, first came to be used medically in the 1970’s after being patented by the Roache pharmaceutical company in the 1960’s. As a benzodiazepine it was prescribed for patients with severe sleeping problems. It was also deployed as a pre-anesthetic drug, mainly to reduce anxiety before the administration of an anesthetic. It has also been useful in countering the effects of other drugs, especially Ketamine. Its sedative effects can lead to fatal situations, mainly due to respiratory depression when taken in higher doses. This becomes even more likely when use is combined with other drugs that have depressant features such as alcohol or an opioid.
In time its reputation as a ‘date-rape’ drug grew with tablets being slipped into the drinks of victims unnoticed as they dissolved completely clear in a liquid such as gin or vodka.
The cognitive effects can be quite profound with a loss of concentration, increased confusion and ‘anterograde amnesia’ which is the inability to create memories while under the influence of the drug. It can also be described as having hangover-like effect which can persist to the next day. It also impairs psychomotor functions making movements clumsy. The combination of factors means that someone who has taken enough Rohypnol is alert enough to have sex but the ability to give consent is removed as is much of the ability to remember what may have happened.
When first produced it could be dissolved into a clear liquid. The company responded to the criticism by re-formulating the capsules with a blue core. When dissolved in light-colored drinks it would dye the liquid blue. However, the dye would still remain disguised in blue or darker colored liquids such as a cocktail. Generic versions of the drug rarely contain the blue dye. Rohypnol is still produced for some markets but has been banned or become tightly controlled in most European countries. In Ireland strict controls exist as it was added to schedule 3 (restricting use to medical professionals for legitimate prescriptive use) of the Misuse of Drugs Act in 1993.
The use of Rohypnol in date rape cases hit headlines all over the world. In addition many law enforcement manuals have cited Rohypnol as one of most commonly implicated in drug-facilitated sexual assaults. Various studies have challenged this assumption with some studies putting the rate of incidence in date-rape cases at around 1% or less. One of the problems in getting hold of accurate data in this area is the widely held belief that Rohypnol is undetectable 12 hours after being taken. This means that quite apart from having to deal with the trauma of the incident victims may fail to get a blood or urine test the following day.
Another commonly cited date-rape drug is Gammahydroxybutyric acid (or GHB as it is commonly known). Although it has been used in sexual assault cases where a victim is female, it is strongly linked to the phenomenon of ‘chemsex’ parties. Chemsex is the now commonly used term to denote when MSM (men who have sex with men) meet up in groups to enjoy often weekend-long sex parties fueled by drug use.
As with Rohypnol the disorientating of GHB means that it is more difficult for a victim to remember the details of an assault. If a victim has willingly taken GBH at a chemsex party then it also makes it significantly more difficult to determine if informed consent for a sexual act has occurred. Other risks would include an increased risk of HIV transmission through unprotected sex or the sharing of needles.
Research published in 2017 in the International Journal of Drug Policy showed that when the MSM community in Dublin was surveyed nearly one in four (23%) reported that they/their partners had lost consciousness as a result of chemsex.
More details about ‘G’ are available on the blog post ‘G is for GHB and Chemsex’.
The application of the term ‘chemsex’ when referring to heterosexual or mixed sexuality group sex parties is less common. Clearly such sex parties go right back in history, at least to the Roman times and the antics of emperors such as Caligula. In the modern day, following the trends of the MSM community, there appears to be an increasing use of apps to arrange parties and the use of drugs (other than alcohol), at them. The mix of drugs may differ with GHB and poppers being much less common but cocaine more so.
The way in which heterosexual sex parties are dealt with by the media, health authorities and support organisations may show a certain amount on unconscious bias. Chemsex in relation to MSM has largely been portrayed as a public health crisis, with the emphasis on the potential for the transmission HIV. Little attention is often given to the sexual violence and exploitation men may experience in chemsex settings. By contrast, when chemsex is discussed in relation to heterosexual people, the issue of sexual consent moves to the forefront.
It must also be borne in mind that feminist commentators have pointed out that looking at consent in relation to the use of substances obscures the wider issue of the pressure put on women in such environments. Consent may be in a sense illusory if a patriarchal society conditions women to find engaging in group sex acceptable even if they seemingly give enthusiastic consent.
Cultural norms and tolerance for substance-linked sex (SLS) varies considerably between countries. Within countries themselves marked differences may also been be seen regionally, by class and by generation.
Surveys such as the Global Drug Survey (GDS) may provide useful information in this area. The 2019 GDS survey was translated into 22 languages, enabling researchers to compare outcomes across regions.
Findings can be used to shape interventions that minimise harm and maximise support for people who have experienced sexual assault, while still ensuring that perpetrators are correctly identified, and held responsible.
As the understanding of issues surrounding sexual assaults, rape and chemsex increase pressure should focus on the provision of appropriate national and local responses that are truly sympathetic, inclusive and supportive in nature.
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