Treating the psychological sequelae of proactive drug-facilitated sexual assault : knowledge building through systematic case based research : extended version of the article that was published as a brief report

Abstract

From Introduction: Drug facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) -- on victims who are too intoxicated to be aware of their surroundings or exercise any control of the situation -- has emerged as a distinct category of sexual victimisation. DFSA has been identified as a significant public health concern, particularly among college students, with the majority of victims being women (McCauley, Ruggiero, Resnick, & Kilpatrick, 2010; Zinzow, Resnick, McCauley, Amstadter, Ruggiero, & Kilpatrick, 2010). Exact rates remain uncertain due to significant under-reporting (Du Mont, Macdonald, Rotbard, Asslanni, & Bainbridge, 2010; Lawyer, Resnick, Bakanic, Burkett, & Kilpatrick, 2010). Opportunistic DFSA, also called incapacitated rape (Lawyer et al., 2010; Zinzow at al., 2010), is the most common form and refers to assaults on women who have voluntarily consumed an excessive amount of alcohol (Lovett & Horvath, 2009). In proactive DFSA (called drug facilitated rape by Lawyer et al., 2010 and drug-alcohol facilitated rape by Zinzow et al., 2010), perpetrators deliberately incapacitate victims by plying them with alcohol or covertly administering an incapacitating drug such as Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) or Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) to victims with the intention of sexually assaulting them (Hall & Moore, 2008)