Alcohol, Sex and Date Rape

I recently got a story from someone explaining how she went to a friend's house and "got really drunk." While she was drunk she had sex with a guy. She said yes, but, she points out, she was drunk. Now she feels terrible, and is wondering if this is rape.

In many jurisdictions in the United States, the influence of drugs or alcohol is considered when determining whether or not a person "consented" to having sex. The effects of the drugs or alcohol can negate the consent, and the act can be considered a sexual assault or a rape. Another factor that generally negates consent is age; a person who is too young, even though the person eagerly says "yes", is considered to not be able to give consent: hence terms like "age of consent" and "statutory rape".

No matter how much alcohol a person consumes, it does not entitle others to take advantage of that person. People have a right to consume alcohol without being raped; people even have a right to make the mistake of having a "few too many" without being victimized by rapists or robbers or others. Even if the person is under the legal drinking age, and thus violating the law by consuming, that still does not give others the right to violate the law by sexually assaulting that person.

The reality is, however, that there are too many people out there who are completely unscrupulous and will take advantage of any situation.

What this story seems to be, though, is one of those stories where the people under the influence of alcohol did some things that they later regretted and felt bad about. If you look through the websites linked to in the panel to the right dealing with rape and sexual assault, you will discover that one indicator that a sexual assault or "date rape" may have occurred is when one (or both) of the people just feels bad about what happened and the way it happened. If someone has that kind of a feeling afterwards, it may have been a sexual assault. It also may have been just two people who made a bad decision in the heat of the moment. It's a fine line between a crime and bad judgment -- a fine line blurred by drugs and alcohol. That's part of why these kinds of assaults have at times been difficult to prosecute, and that's part of why authorities sometimes don't pursue the case.

Just because you are drunk, that does not give others the right to victimize you. The reality is, however, that consuming alcohol impacts your judgment and your ability to react to the situations around you and makes you an easier target for those who would victimize you. Even if you're with a good crowd of people who are sincerely watching out for you, consuming alcohol can increase the likelihood of something happening that people will later regret.