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NEWS
DATE RAPE
Watch your drink Rebekah Kendal Thu, 29 Nov 2007

"It was a very busy function with lots of people milling about and I distinctly remember putting my drink down on a glass table in the room in which myself, friends and other people I obviously didn't know, were hanging about. That's the last thing I remember."
5fm radio DJ Nicole Fox had her drink spiked at a work function at a venue in Montecasino in 2003. She has no recollection of what happened in the subsequent two and a half hours and spent the following day in bed, completely weak and "shaking like a leaf". She had only had a few sips of the single vodka and Red Bull which she ordered.
"I'd lost two-and-a-half hours of utter blankness, (and) cannot to this day remember anything of that time. We left the venue immediately (after she "snapped back into reality") and I can only hope that in that time nothing terribly bad happened to me, it doesn't seem that way, but I guess I'll never know. My only saving grace is that my friends and boyfriend were around and people recognise me so no one could abduct me, if you'd like to call it that, without the alarm being raised."
Although Nicole seems to have escaped some of the real horrors that are associated with 'date rape drugs' the incident still left emotional scars.
"It made me feel quite dirty and vulnerable. I don't trust anyone when going out except my close friends now. It's also a real taboo subject and people still unfortunately think that all that happened is that you drank too much so there isn't much sympathy for victims of drink spiking. The funny thing is that once you do start talking about it you won't believe how many people it has happened to."

What are date rape drugs?

A number of drugs fall under the rather broad category of 'date rape drugs' which are usually slipped into an unsuspecting victim's food or drink. The drugs, which tend to be colourless, odourless and tasteless, can result in dizziness, a dream-like feeling, unconsciousness, loss of muscle control, confusion, problems talking and amnesia. More seriously, when mixed with alcohol, they can also result in respiratory failure, a coma and even death.
All traces of the drugs generally leave the body within 72 hours of ingestion and are not normally found in routine toxicology screening. This means that unless the victim gets to the hospital within this timeframe and is properly tested, there is little chance in proving that they have been drugged.
These effects create an ideal set of circumstances for the rapist — the victim appears drunk and struggles to appeal for help, while the rapist acts like a Good Samaritan by giving the woman a 'lift home'. Unable to fight off the rape, the woman is also unlikely to remember it in the morning as the drugs induce memory loss. The brazen rapist may then allege that the sex was consensual.

Although they make up the majority, women are not the only victims of date rape drugs, men also fall victim to this horrific crime. Unfortunately, because the crime is under-reported, the prevalence is not known.
According to the police, in some cases the crime is not reported because the victim cannot remember what happened and feels that they lack the evidence to report the crime. However Charlene Smith from SpeakOut (www.speakout.org.za) claims that the under-reporting is also due to an ineffective criminal justice system.
"It is under-reported because the police are lazy about trying to investigate this and too many district surgeons/doctors fail to test women for drugs when they report a rape… the most important thing is that all rape is under-reported because of the difficulties those who are raped have to confront in dealing with a disinterested (sic) criminal justice system."

What do they do?

A number of different drugs (including recreational drugs) can be used as date rape drugs, but these are the most common.

Rohypnol: Known on the streets as Roofies, Rophy and Ruftles, Rohypnol is a prescription sedative which can cause sleepiness, loss of muscle control, dizziness, confusion, problems talking and seeing, unconsciousness and amnesia. In an attempt to prevent misuse of the drug, the manufacturer Roche has adapted the pill so that it turns bright blue when added to liquids.

Ketamine" Ketamine is a white powder which can cause hallucinations, distorted perceptions of sight and sound, impaired motor functions, a dream-like feeling, loss of co-ordination, numbness, slurred speech and memory problems.

GHB: Gamma hydroxybutyric acid can be manufactured by people in their homes, which makes this drug potentially the most dangerous of the three. It can cause drowsiness, dizziness, problems seeing, sweating and vomiting, seizures, unconsciousness, coma and death.

Seemingly innocuous medicines like eye-drops have also reportedly been used for this purpose. When mixed with alcohol, the nafazoline or phenylephrine in certain eye-drops can cause drowsiness, dizziness and a loss of consciousness.