Unwanted sexual encounters and unsafe sex are rife among
drinkers and drug users, a large survey has found.  Nearly a
quarter of the 6605 Australian respondents to the Global Drug
Survey said they had been taken advantage of sexually because
they were vulnerable after consuming drugs or alcohol.  Experts
say the shocking figure points to a hidden epidemic of dangerous
behaviour and sexual assaults not reported to police.  Director
of the Centre for Health Initiatives at the University of
Wollongong, Sandra Jones, said many people didn't realise that
if they had not consented to sex because they were too drunk,
this was still rape. ''People have this perception of rape as
being a really, really specific thing. People think if you were
so drunk you can't remember, then it's not rape, but it is.''
Professor Jones' own research among university students in
Wollongong has found binge drinking was linked to women having
negative sexual experiences such as sex they later regretted,
rape or unwanted sexual advances.