From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Main article: Types of rape

The term "date rape" refers to rape or non-consensual sexual activity between people who are known to each other either platonically or sexually. These particular instances of sexual assault take place during a social interaction between the rapist and the victim hence the name date rape. It may be either planned or spontaneous.

In some cases, "date rape drugs" such as GHB^[1], flunitrazepam^[2], temazepam^[3], midazolam^[4], and ketamine may be used to neutralize resistance or even render the victim unconscious. Such drugs will usually also affect memory of the event. Alcohol remains the drug most frequently implicated in substance-assisted sexual assault. Memory loss of the event can lead to an inability to later prosecute as the victim will not remember the exact circumstances of the attack. As such date rape is difficult to prove in most judicial systems.

Understanding date rape as a social issue is difficult due to conceptual differences about what even constitutes "rape". It both reflects and is reflected by political and sociological differences in ways of viewing gender roles, personal responsibility, and social norms for topics such as flirting, dress, and what physical contact constitutes a violation. Debates on this topic often reflect polarized opinions in which proponents of differing viewpoints are accused of "radical feminism" or being "misogynistic". Some social conservatives such as Irving Kristol [1] and Judith Reisman [2] favor using the issues of date rape and sexual harassment as methods of restoring pre-sexual revolution standards of sexual morality.

Similarly, institutional responses, including efforts in the criminal justice system, have been difficult to establish. Colleges and universities, settings in which date rape is considered a common problem because of lowered inhibitions and frequent social activities, have attempted to develop policies and guidelines for prevention and discipline that can be unwieldy and unenforceable. While criminal prosecution of stranger rape (eg: no pre-existing relationship) is sufficiently difficult, date rape can be even more difficult to prosecute.

This is due to the highly subjective components involved in determining consent, and conscious intention, as well as attitudes toward gender, toward sexuality, and toward individual responsibility. Further, in a society that is both "obsessed" with but uncomfortable with sex and sexuality, direct communication is too frequently lacking, so that expectations and interpretations vary drastically between the potential "perpetrator" and the potential "victim". With the addition of socially sanctioned use of alcohol (over 80% of date rapes included the use of alcohol by at least one partner, while over 50% involved the use by both partners)[3] the likelihood of such miscommunication goes even higher.