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Home / Moral Panics / Drug
Rape urban myth Discussion
Papers about Drug Rape Scares |
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by Josie Appleton. Drink-spiking awareness campaigns
have become an established part of the pre-Christmas period. It’s normally
around early December that police forces, student unions and campaign
organisations start to warn revellers about the poisons that others could be
slipping into their festive drinks. This year, a study by the
Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) tried to get in first – with evidence
that drink-spiking is largely a myth. Researchers examined 120 cases of
alleged drug-assisted assault, and found not a single trace of the notorious
‘date-rape’ drug Rohypnol. They found Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), the other
drug often mentioned, in only two cases. Most of those who claimed to have
been drug-raped were just plain drunk, with half also showing traces of
another drug in their systems, such as ecstasy or cocaine. This isn’t really news. The head
of the study, Detective Chief Superintendent David Gee, told me a year ago
that his researchers had found no cases involving Rohypnol, and that the
drink-spiking phenomenon had been hugely exaggerated (see Drink-spiking
scare: shots of anxiety, by Josie Appleton). There has never been any evidence
for drink-spiking. Yet search the internet and you will find the same
authoritative message: that Rohypnol and GHB are the main drink-spiking
drugs; that it happens to men as well as women; that there are at least 800
cases a year. There is standard advice, too: keep your drink in your hand,
and hold your thumb over the opening if you are drinking from a bottle; never
accept a drink from anyone you don’t know; never share or exchange drinks;
keep an eye on your friends. We read this wisdom from such established
organisations as NHS Direct and local police forces. A whole industry has
grown up to combat the drink-spiking threat. Partygoers are spoilt for choice
by the variety of drink stoppers – from Safeflo, which is ‘currently endorsed
by Crimestoppers’, to the Alcotop with a ‘snap-fit lid’, to the foil ‘Spanky’
that folds over the neck of the bottle. Other companies offer drug detector
kits, so you can test before you swig. Where did all this come from?
There is one small but vocal campaign group, the Roofie Foundation, which has
been awareness-raising on this issue for a number of years. Yet this doesn’t
explain the transformation from urban myth to official fact. Drink-spiking has always been a
morality tale first and foremost. ‘Who could be watching your drink?’, the
campaigns ask. These send the poisonous message that you always have to be on
your guard; that you should trust nobody; that the person who offers you a
drink could really be out to get you. These campaigns tap into and amplify
popular fears. All of this takes the Christmas
spirit out of things. Letting yourself go in the party season apparently
means putting yourself and others at risk. Convivial and uninhibited
interaction gets redefined as a health hazard. The progress of the drink-spiking
scare has been helped by the fact that, without drug detector kits, it is
difficult to prove or disprove either way. Rohypnol is colourless, odourless,
and causes such unusual symptoms as dizziness, difficulty with walking, and
confusion or feelings of disorientation. It’s not hard to see how the natural
self-delusion after a night out predisposes some to conclude that they have
been drink-spiked. Would that this latest study
stopped the scare in its tracks, but that seems unlikely. Just as the ACPO
reported the results of its study, Wiltshire Police announced that ‘Having
your drink spiked could result in you being sexually assaulted, robbed or
becoming the victim of ID theft’. The force admits that cases of
drink-spiking are rare, but still ‘warns people drinking in pubs and clubs to
be vigilant’. Indeed, the ACPO report itself
warned of the dangers of drink-spiking...with alcohol. It also called for
more sophisticated tests for Rohypnol, which can disappear from the system
quite quickly. The Roofie Foundation was undeterred: ‘We know that people
don’t report drug-assisted rapes, as the Home Office has acknowledged. We are
contacted by 800 people a year, and we can’t quantify the number who don’t
contact us.’ The fact that we can’t detect drink-spiking gets taken as
evidence for its sure existence. We will certainly have to stay
vigilant about dodgy awareness-raising campaigns this Christmas. |
