Drinking Alcohol Causes Sexual Assault

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Drinking Alcohol Causes Sexual Assault

There is a definite correlation between alcohol and sexual assault. A sexual assault can be defined as a sexual act occurring without verbal consent, or when force is used in a sexual encounter against the other person's will. Of all the men who admit to committing sexual assault, 55% report being under the influence of alcohol at the time, with 26% of the men being drunk (Stanford University, 1999). Of all the women who report being sexually assaulted, 53% of them report being under the influence of alcohol, with 21% of these women being drunk (Stanford University, 1999). These facts suggest that alcohol is a major factor in sexual assaults. Crimes such as these could be greatly reduced if alcohol was not in the picture.

Unfortunately, there are many sexual assaults, or rapes, per year. According to the Affirmative Action Office at Iowa State University, there have been at least two reported rapes per weekend since classes have begun this year. Throughout the United States in 1996, there were 98,000 completed rapes, and 219,000 attempted rapes (Stanford University, 1999). Most of these assaults were upon women. In fact, women were ten times more likely than men to become victims of rape or sexual assault in 1996, a reality that still holds true (Stanford University, 1999). The number of sexual assaults upon men is so minor that statistics are rarely given.

Alcohol plays a major factor in many sexual assault and rape cases. There are many reasons for why alcohol is such a clear component of sexual assault.

The first reason that many assaults involve alcohol is that it has severe effects on the human body. The effects of alcohol on a man and woman are different. When a man co...

... middle of paper ...

...xual assault, act responsibly around alcohol, or steer clear of it completely

Works Cited

Abbey, Antonia. "Acquaintance Rape and Alcohol Consumption on College Campuses." Journal of American College Health. Vol. 39, January 1991. http://www2.bitstream.net/~alpropes/resc/al

Alcohol and Acquaintance Rape: Strategies to Protect Yourself and Each Other. The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Center. 1995. http://www.edc.org/hec.

Alcohol Impairment Chart. The National Clearing house for Alcohol and Drug Information. Oct. 1998. http://www.health.org/pubs/qdocs/alcohol-bad-chrt.htm

Rohypnol Facts- The "Date Rape Drug." Midland Police Service. 4 March 1999. http://www.police.midland.on.ca/rohypnol.html

The Relationship Between Alcohol and Sexual Assault. Stanford University. 1999 http://www.stanford.edu/group/bbeam/alcohol

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