Crime Prevention:
Date Rape

Rapists are not always strangers or anonymous attackers. When someone you know - a date, steady boyfriend, casual friend or partner - forces you to have sex, it's still rape.

The Bureau of Justice reports that seven out of 10 victims of sexual assault know their attacker.

Preventing date rape

There are several things you can do to protect yourself when you are dating:

What to do when someone you care about has been sexually assaulted

When supporting a survivor of sexual violence, don't be judgmental or take control away from the victim. Try to communicate the following ideas to the victim which will greatly assist healing.

The following guidelines will also help to build a sense of trust and safety in the survivor.

If you have been raped...

If you think you've been assaulted while under the influence of a drug such as Rohyponol or GHB, seek help immediately, try not to urinate before providing urine samples, and, if possible, collect any glasses from which you drank.

What are "date rape" drugs?

Rohyponol ("roofies," "roopies," "circles," "the forget pills") works like a tranquilizer. It causes muscle weakness, fatigue, slurred speech, loss of motor coordination and judgment, and amnesia that lasts up to 24 hours. They look like an aspirin - small, white and round - and are colorless and flavorless. When dissolved in liquids, they can take effect in as little as 20 minutes.

GHB (also known as "liquid X," "salt water," or "scoop") also causes quick sedation. Its side effects include drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, headaches, dizziness, coma and death. The drugs most common form is a clear liquid, although it can also be a white, grainy powder.

Both of these powerful sedatives are illegal if possessed in New York State, especially if used in the commission of a sexual assault.

If you think you've been assaulted while under the influence of Rohypnol or GHB, seek help immediately. Try to save your urine in a clean glass container, as well as any glasses from which you may have drank.

Rohyponol and GHB are called the date rape drugs because when they are slipped into someone's drink, a sexual assault can take place without the victim being able to remember what happened.

The myths - The truth