Forcible, drug-facilitated, and incapacitated rape and sexual assault

A recent study published in the Journal of American College Health shows that alcohol is the most common “date rape drug.”  While there is much attention toward concern about what drugs may be slipped into someone’s drinks, this study found that most rapes of college women were preceded by voluntary alcohol consumption.

What are the implications for college rape prevention programs?

The full citation and abstract follow the jump.

Forcible, drug-facilitated, and incapacitated rape and sexual assault among undergraduate women.

Lawyer S, Resnick H, Bakanic V, Burkett T, Kilpatrick D. Journal of American College Health 2010; 58(5): 453-60.

Click here for a link to the article on the journal’s web site.

(Copyright © 2010, Heldref Publications)

Objective: To examine the prevalence of drug-related sexual assaults, identify the frequency of assaults that occur following voluntary versus involuntary drug or alcohol consumption, and identify contextual correlates of drug-related assaults. Participants: College-student females (n = 314). Methods: Volunteers reported experiences with forcible and drug-related sexual assaults in the spring semester of 2004. Follow-up queries regarding the most severe drug-related assaults determined whether the assaults followed voluntary or involuntary alcohol or drug consumption. Results: 29.6% (n = 93) of the respondents reported a drug-related sexual assault or rape; 5.4% (n = 17) reported a forcible sexual assault or rape. Voluntary incapacitation preceded 84.6% of drug-related assaults and involuntary incapacitation preceded 15.4% of drug-related assaults. The majority of drug-related assaults (96.1%) involved alcohol consumption prior to assault. Conclusions: Drug-related sexual assaults on college campuses are more frequent than are forcible assaults and are most frequently preceded by voluntary alcohol consumption.