Victim Advocacy: Date Rape Essay

Introduction

Rape is considered to be one of the most heinous and terrible crimes. Its revolting nature and grave consequences for the victim have earned hate and condemnation from all and any decent human beings. The perpetrators of rape receive the harshest sentences and rightly so. Even the inmates in prisons look down on those convicted of rape and show them no mercy or pity.

However, instead of taking an uncompromising stance against rape crimes in our local county, our prosecution chooses not to get involved with cases of date rape when drugs or alcohol are involved. The purpose of this paper is to educate the reader about the subject of date rape and make a formidable case for changing the policy regarding the prosecution of such crimes.

Definition of Date Rape

• Date rape, also known as acquaintance rape, is a kind of violation that occurs between the perpetrator and the victim in a setting where they know one another, with a degree of romantic or sexual relationship involved. It frequently occurs at student campuses, clubs, and other places of social activity. One of the particular traits attributed to this kind of rape is the extensive use of drugs and alcohol to coerce or incapacitate the victim.
• Date rape is different from stranger rape due to the fact the victim usually knows the perpetrator to some degree. Although sometimes the crime is committed by a person not affiliated with the victim, about 90% of date rapes are conducted by someone the victim knows (Shmiedt, 2015).
• Statutory rape is considered different from date rape, as the former definition puts an emphasis on the age of the victim rather than on the motivations of the violator and the scene of the crime.
• The difference between spousal rape and date rape lies in the kind of connection between the perpetrator and the victim. Typically, the romantic relationship between the two lacks any serious commitment, if any. The definition of spousal rape deals explicitly with rape scenarios occurring between people bound by marital commitments.

Types and Uses of Date Rape Drugs

Date rapes are known for the extensive usage of alcohol and drugs to force the victim into submission. These drugs are also known as club drugs, as they are often illegally distributed at clubs during parties.

The most common drugs are:

• Flunitrazepam, also known as Rohypnol.
• Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid, also known as ecstasy.
• Ketamine.

All three could take the form of pills, powders, or liquids, which make them easy to hide and administer. The victim consumes the drugs, either willingly or unknowingly, and is made defenseless and unable to resist the advances of the perpetrator. The alcohol tends to magnify the sedative effects on the body (Date Rape Drugs, 2016).

USN and NCVS Statistics

• The USN statistics show that the police departments receive approximately 80000 reports of rape crimes yearly across the US (Rape, 2013). This data, while accurately representing the number of reported cases, does not show the complete picture. Many cases of rape remain unreported due to fear and social stigma placed upon the victims of such crimes.
• The National Crime Victimization Survey, or NCVS, shows a different picture. According to the latest reports, the number of yearly sexual assaults is way over 5 million (Data Collection, 2014). It shows just how many of these crimes remain unreported. This kind of survey provides us with data not covered by the USN report. However, it could not be referred to as completely accurate due to the methodology of the survey.

The Victim-Offender Relationship

The offenders usually differ in their motivations for every particular date rape scenario. The offense generally occurs in one of two ways.

• The first type of perpetrator seeks out a victim on purpose, after deliberate preparation. This kind of perpetrator tends to obtain special drugs for the sole purpose of incapacitating the victim before proceeding with the offense.
• The second type of perpetrator commits the assault under the influence of drugs or alcohol, frequently not realizing the full extent of what he or she is doing. They tend to target young and attractive females whom they deem as approachable and who consume an abundance of alcoholic drinks (Simons, 2016).

While there is a massive public outcry demanding the prosecutors to pursue charges on numerous cases of date rapes, many are reluctant to do so due to how difficult it is to prove them. There are several reasons for that.

• The first reason is the lack of witnesses – cases of date rape usually do not have any witnesses beyond the alleged perpetrator and the victim. If the defendant denies everything, it is very unlikely that the jurors would consider the victim’s words.
• The second reason why date rape cases are so difficult to prove is the lack of forensic evidence. Many victims do not receive serious injuries during the assault, if at all. The jurors often view this as a requirement to identify whether the sex was consensual or not. The issue is complicated by the fact that many victims report the crime too late when all traces of evidence are long gone. Without any witnesses or forensic evidence, it is practically impossible to prove if the date rape even happened (Jones, 2014).

The jurors and the society has a somewhat warped perception regarding victims of date rapes. Blaming the victim is more common than anyone would like to admit.

• The blame takes many forms, ranging from dressing provocatively to consuming too much alcohol.
• The jurors tend to be skeptical towards the victims unless they fit into their personal patterns of how a rape victim should look and behave.
• If there were no injuries or other signs of direct violence, the victims are often suspected of making false charges in order to receive material compensation from the defendant.

These are the prejudices born out of stereotyping and lack of knowledge, and they get in the way of winning date rape cases (Schmiedt, 2015).

My position on the Issue

The facts mentioned in the previous sections may seem disheartening, as the chances of effectively pursuing perpetrators of date rapes within the legal field are slim at best. However, denying the victims of such crimes a chance for justice is inherently wrong. We are the agents of justice sworn to protect the rights, life, and dignity of everyone in our country.

Not opposing such evil even if the chances of winning the case are small means that we are silently allowing it to continue. I wish to speak to you on behalf of Maureen, a college student who was a victim of a date rape. I sincerely hope that after reading this paper and examining the facts I presented you would reconsider your policy regarding the cases of date rape. A crime is a crime. We must do everything in our power to bring the perpetrators to justice, no matter how hard or how long it would take.

References

Data collection: National crime victimization survey. (2014). Web.

Date rape drugs. (2016). Web.

Jones, V.C. (2014). Five reasons why prosecutors find it hard to prosecute date rape cases. Web.

Rape. (2013). Web.

Schmiedt, N. (2015). Hunting for the perfect victim. The Huffington Post. Web.

Simons, D.A. (2016). Chapter 3: Sex offender typologies. Web.