Alcohol, Coercion and Incapacitation
While alcohol use is not the cause of sexual assault, it is often a major contributing factor in sexual assault incidents:
- Alcohol is the substance most frequently used to facilitate sexual assault (Campus Sexual Assault Study, National Institute of Justice, 2007).
- Approximately 50% of reported cases of sexual assault involve alcohol consumption by the survivor, the perpetrator, or both (Abbey, Zawacki, et al., 2001).
Alcohol can be a contributing factor to sexual assault because (Mount Holyoke and Kent State, 2018):
- Alcohol affects judgment and increases risk taking.
- People who are intoxicated are less likely to perceive dangerous situations.
- It increases likelihood of miscommunication.
- People who are intoxicated are less likely to clearly communicate boundaries.
- An alcohol-impaired person may misinterpret nonsexual behaviors as being sexual.
- Alcohol may cause a person to be less able to effectively resist an assault (especially if unconscious).
- An alcohol-impaired person is less apt to control or resist physically dangerous situations.
- Stereotypically, men may think women who drink "are asking for sex."
- Perpetrators often get their victims drunk, believing (falsely) that if a person is unable to give consent for sex, they are consenting.
- Alcohol is used as an excuse for behavior:
- A drunk perpetrator is viewed as less responsible.
- Victim/survivors who are drunk falsely believe their drunkenness caused the attack and are less likely to report it
Coercion: (Kent State, 2018)
The use of alcohol for sexual purposes can be a coercive tactic. Although coercive tactics like pressuring someone to drink in order to have sex may not meet the legal definition of sexual assault, it is morally questionable. Coercion undermines the campus community of safety, trust, and honor. Examples of coercive behaviors include:
- Encouraging someone to disregard personal boundaries.
- Actively pressuring someone to drink.
- Supplying someone with alcohol for the sole purpose of engaging in sex with that person.
Remember:
- Intoxication may make someone physically and/or mentally less able to resist an assault. It is important to remember that an inability or unwillingness to resist does NOT make an assault the survivor’s fault.
- Alcohol is often used by perpetrators as an excuse for their actions and as an attempt to shift responsibility for the assault away from themselves and onto the survivor.
It is important to remember that, while alcohol use may be related to sexual assault, this does not mean that alcohol use in any way causes sexual assault. Instead, alcohol is often used as a tool to target victims and then used by perpetrators as an excuse for their actions. Our society tends to adhere to a sexist double standard: someone who has been drinking and commits a sexual assault is less responsible for their actions, while someone who has been drinking and experiences a sexual assault is held more responsible. The reality is that whether or not a perpetrator had been drinking prior to the assault, the severity of their actions remains the same. No blame for the assault should be put on the survivor, regardless of whether or not they were drinking prior to the assault.
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