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Peterellis.org.nz
Home / Moral Panics / Drug
Rape urban myth Drug-rapes
- Taranaki Hysteria December 2006 |
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The head of the New Plymouth CIB
is urging the alleged victims of seven drug rapes to come forward. So far, just one of the women has
complained to police. Detective Senior Sergeant Grant
Coward says Taranaki police are very concerned about the rape claims. Mr Coward says that while the
Hawera CIB is currently investigating an alleged rape from last weekend, it
is too early to say if it was drug rape. In less than one week seven women,
aged 19 to 38, have reported being drugged and raped in Taranaki. The women reported the attacks to
local rape crisis centres. All had been at pubs or hotels with friends on
either Thursday, Friday or Saturday night in Stratford or New Plymouth and
believed their drinks had been spiked. The women woke up in unfamiliar surroundings
after allegedly being subjected to often brutal attacks. However, Mr Coward rejected the
possibility that it could be a gang of men. "I suggest to you that is not
the case," Mr Coward said yesterday. "If the victims do come
forward we can, and will, investigate their complaints. We would encourage
them to come forward, even if they feel embarrassed if they can't remember
what happened." Scene examinations and forensic
testing, as well as security camera footage from hotels, could help, Mr Coward
said. The police have been successful in
solving drug-rape crimes in the past. New Plymouth Safer Centre
spokeswoman Lorraine Jans said one of the victims had complained to police
and two women had provided samples – urine and blood – to their doctors in a
bid to find out what they had been drugged with. "Those results will be a
while off and I guess it depends what's in their system and how long it stays
in their bodies," Ms Jans said. She says the women are all
extremely traumatised and shocked about what has happened to them, but also
felt helped by the fact they weren't alone. "None of them know each
other, and yet, because we went public, they can know that they're not going
nuts or they didn't just imagine it." Ms Jans says the Safer Centre
normally receives about three complaints of drug-rape a year. "It's more likely to be
someone the woman knows. It could be a date-rape, like in a situation where a
woman has met someone over the Internet and then meets up with them
face-to-face." While she didn't know if it was a
gang of men carrying out the attacks, she believes it could be a possibility.
The women's stories horrified
counsellors, but privacy issues mean details cannot be revealed. However, they were being
encouraged to lay a police complaint. Ms Jans urged anyone else who
believes they had been a victim of drug rape to get support by phoning 0800
472 496. |
