Date rape among college students essay

Date Rape among College Students It’s a typical Saturday night at Purdue tonight.

The biggest party of the year is happening at the Gama Alpha Fraternity, and you were invited. You don’t know many of the people that will be attending the party; you only know Jack from Psychology class. You say what the heck, start getting ready and off to the party you go.

As soon as you walk in the door you’re greeted by Jack, which he offers you a drink, and you take it. But what you didn’t know is that before you arrived at the party he had slipped some medication into it. This is a common result as to how date rape or acquaintance rape can happen. This is a big problem with college campuses worldwide. Women are the main targets, but men are not excluded.

It’s a known fact that half of all people who are raped know the person who attacked them. It could simply be your best friend that you’ve known for many years. There are a couple ways to avoid the date rape situation: these include not going to parties alone or that you’re unfamiliar with, not letting your drink out of your sight or accepting a drink from someone else, and if you’re going to drink or do drugs limit your intake. The more you drink the more likely you are to become a victim of date rape.

There are four main drugs that are generally used when a date rape happens. The four drugs that are used are: Alcohol, Rohypnol, GHB, and Ketamine. These drugs are widely used to alter the mind and body. Alcohol is the easiest tool to use in a date rape. Alcohol can loosen inhibitions, dull common senses, and limit your body movements preventing you from fighting back with all your strength.

Rohypnol is a trade name for flunitrazeoam. This drug can be felt within 30 minutes of taking it and can last for hours. A few of the side effects of this medicine are muscle relaxation or loss of muscle control, sleepiness, dizziness, and speech problems.

GHB or gamma hydroxybutyric acid which is a liquid and looks like water, can take effect in 15 minutes and last up to 4 hours. GHB is commonly made by people in their homes or street labs. Some of the side effects of this medication are drowsiness, dizziness, black out, coma, and memory loss. The last drug used in date rapes is ketamine, which takes effect quickly. This medication is used in animal practices as an anesthetic, as well as in humans. The side effects of this medication are more serious and include side effects such as, out of body experiences, impaired motor functions, numbness, and slurred speech. But still, alcohol is still the number one date rape drug available today. There are a number of ways to help prevent the bad experiences of date rape within college campuses and other situations.

Whenever you are put into a surrounding such as a party, use the buddy system. Have some friends go with you that you know will keep a watch on each other and can help control the situation when they see things may be getting out of hand. Have someone be a designated driver which will not be drinking or using drugs and will have total control over their thinking and ability to think straight. That’s one of the problems with college students today. They think that just because it’s a party and several people will be attending nothing bad will happen, but that’s not the case.

This is a good time when someone will likely take advantage of you because you are alone and don’t know many of the people there. Another solution to avoiding a date rape is never let your drink out of your sight or let someone else get you a drink. GHB is commonly used, and you would never know if it was slipped into your drink or not because it looks like water. They only way you would ever know is by its salty taste, but don’t count on the taste. If you have dark liquor, it will mask the salty taste. Also not sharing drinks with your friends, even if you know them very well and you’ve been friends for years. You don’t know who they received their drink from or what they’re drinking. Punch bowls are also a huge target.

They can easily be spiked without anyone knowing, especially at a fraternity party because some of the guys are depending on that to get their way with the girls. Do not drink from punch bowls what so ever. The final solution to avoiding a date rape is if you’re going to drink, limit your intake. Granted it’s a party but when you act stupid and take shot after shot and play games, you’re asking for trouble. As I mentioned before, alcohol is the number one date rape drug. Alcohol impairs your mind making it harder to think clearly or be able to recognize trouble around you.

And if you plan on doing drugs because that’s your thing, limit your intake as well. Drugs can be mixed with one another, and you never know what the outcome could be. It could even be the worst possible outcome – death. The only thing you can do if you’re going to go to a party, drink and try drugs is to be careful. Try and get to know the people around you and the environment beforehand.

It can become very hard at a party for you to limit or even avoid the situation of drinking and drugs. Everyone has a way of manipulating people and peer pressuring someone into doing something. But you have to stand up for yourself and say no. Don’t worry about what others will think of you, or that reputation you have to uphold, because you have to live with the outcome and I’m sure waking up the next day in a room lying next to a stranger naked is not the outcome you want. If you follow these solutions: not going to parties alone or that you’re unfamiliar with, not letting your drink out of your sight or accepting a drink from someone else, and limiting your drink/drug intake you shouldn’t become a victim of date rape. As we know in today’s society you can never be too careful about the people and your surroundings. Many of the drugs that were listed are clear liquids that can’t be smelled, seen nor tasted. You honestly can’t trust others who are out just to have “ fun” on your behalf.

A common mistake made by victims of a date rape is that they won’t report the incident. They feel that no one will believe them, or they don’t have the proof. Especially, if the biggest jock on the campus did it, because he’s so popular he has everyone on his side. But you should never just let it go. If it happens to you report it as quickly as possible. If a date rape doesn’t ruin your life, then death could. Alcohol and Sexual Assault on Campus: New Findings.

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