Sexual Assault Information & Resources
Information on Rape Drugs
Drugs used to facilitate rape are often odorless, colorless, tasteless and can be put into any drink-alcoholic or non-alcoholic, even water. The most common are GHB, alcohol, Ketamine, Rohypnol and Ecstacy.
Side effects include: dizziness, extreme exhaustion, nausea, severe headache, disproportionate inebriation (feeling like you drank 15 alcoholic drinks instead of 2 or 3), disorientation, difficulty with or loss of body movements, loss of consciousness.
Drugs can begin to take effect within minutes and the effects can last 8 or more hours. It is possible to detect the drug up to 24 hours after ingestion through a toxicology test.
Ways to Lower Your Risk
- Always be aware of your environment
- If you are with a partner, communicate your sexual limits in advance
- Respect your partner, its okay to ask what they plan on doing with you, how far they want to go
- Know what rape is
- If you are drinking, try to stay with a group of friends and make sure that someone remains sober and is looking out for everyone
- Leave with everyone you arrived with
- Do not leave drinks unattended. If you put your drink down and walk away, do not come back to it, get a new drink
- Never accept a drink from someone you don’t know
- Do not drink out of a common source (punch bowl, pitcher etc)
Remember that even if the victim ingested a drug knowingly, he/she are not at fault for the attack, and they did not ask to be raped.