Prevention and Intervention

Of the two, I consider prevention as the better route to tackle rape violence than intervention. We want to find the causes of rape and shift the issues that lead to it. This will take serious changes in how we influence and perceive gender, sexuality, and power dynamics in our society. It will take longer than the instant fix we all hope and pray for to come about. 

Luckily, we don’t have the either-or dilemma to handling the issue. As our society develop methods that prevent rape from being a considered solution to underlining issues, there are those who are countering the issue from the other side by intervening in more active situations. One of the interventions I want to focus on are towards date rape drugs. On a macro scale, there are laws in place to convict those who acted on drugging and raping others. Having a punishment doesn’t mean that the consequences are considered before or during the assault. PSAs on date rape drugs, tips on staying safe, and advice on reporting attacks are brought to the attention of potential victims and those who can fall at risk to a perpetrator. Ramapo College of NJ has drafted up information just as such. The tips on staying safe mentioned in their PSA are what I heard from friends, family, and everyone else who has concerns for others’ safety, but the advice tends to be easier to say then to act on. The environment and nature of where victims are targeted, parties, tend to be primed for distractions and influences in which rapists take advantage. 

So, what more can we do?

New efforts are being made to help aid in protection from date rape drugs with devices that can be used to test drink’s content. I must admit, that I’ve seen different types of devices advertised over the past ten years without really seeing them in action in parties or spoken about in more casual conversations to suggest popular use. It got me wondering what is missing. After doing a quick search on Google, I realized that there are a handful of companies marketing their discreet portable tests, but most of them are stuck in funding or prototype stages for unusually long-time periods and not out for commercial use. Some even opted out of the business altogether. Those devices we have seen disguised as napkins, stirrers, straws, some gadgets are not readily available for similar reasons. But, rest assure that there are two companies that are in the market and selling! Drink Safe has test kits that are manipulated in to coasters and business cards; and Undercover Color offers kit chips that tests if a drink was spiked. So, if you ever need a reason to throw a drink then test it!

What should you do if you think you've been drugged and raped?

• National Sexual Assault Hotline, 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online in English or Spanish with a trained hotline specialist on the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline.
• National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

For more information about date rape drugs and other women's health related information, then please visit the Office On Women's Health.  

With love and support, Cynthia's Dirty Secrets