Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["Linda Langford" <>]

Dear Jodi,

You asked:
                To your knowledge, if one had been drugged with a date
rate drug, is it possible to remember points in time or would one
remember absolutely nothing from the time of the intake?  We have been
told that if they remember anything then it is not consistent with
having been drugged but I can't verify that through any research. 


There is a 2000 article from the NIJ Journal that may be helpful
entitled, "Drug-Facilitated Rape: Looking for the Missing Pieces"
(online at http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/jr000243c.pdf). It doesn't
cite formal research on your question, but it does describe the
experiences of survivors as including "gaps in memory" and sometimes
intermittent recall of events. 

On page 11 in the section entitled "Learning from Victims," it says
[sorry to include the graphic detail, everyone, but I thought I should
quote the entire paragraph]:
                When they regained consciousness, some victims were
unsure if they had been sexually assaulted. Others found signs that they
had been: They were undressed; they had semen stains on their bodies
and/or clothing; they had vaginal or anal trauma, such as soreness
and/or lacerations. All of these victims reported significant memory
impairment. Most could not recall what was done to them, who
participated, or how many people were present while they were
unconscious. Some could remember brief, intermittent periods of
awakening, during which they were aware of their surroundings but were
unable to move or speak. They felt "paralyzed." One victim said, "I came
to and saw this guy on top of me about to rape me, but I couldn't move
my arms or legs. Then I passed out again." 

Other articles on this topic make the point that there are many drugs
that can be used to facilitate rape (with the most common being alcohol,
of course.) I suspect that the degree and completeness of memory
impairment varies depending upon what drug(s) are used.

I hope this is helpful.

Best,
Linda Langford


Linda Langford, Sc.D.
Associate Center Director, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other
Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention
www.HigherEdCenter.org 
Education Development Center, Inc.
55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA  02458-1060
voice (800) 676-1730 x2719 OR (617) 618-2719 (direct line) 
fax (617) 928-1537