• 05
  • January
    2012

A recent study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, published by Rutgers in New Jersey, indicates that young freshman women who engage in binge drinking - defined as consuming at least four to six drinks or more - are at a higher risk of sexual assault or other types of unwanted sexual contact.

And more than 50 percent of women who consumed 10 or more alcoholic beverages in a single stretch of time (like at a party) were "sexually victimized," write the authors of the study, by the end of the first semester in college.

The authors of the study assign the blame wholly to the person accused of sexual assault - obviously not wanting to use binge drinking as an excuse for sex crimes - but what is left unsaid is the fact that "perpetrators" are assumed to be guilty of unwanted sexual contact.

Much has been written about "date rape"; however, despite the problems inherent in date rape and other forms of unwanted sexual contact, very little is said in defense of the accused. All too often, such allegations are "he said, she said," and the alleged perpetrator of sexual assault may be blindsided by allegations that he or she never saw coming.

Source: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, "Freshman women's binge drinking tied to sexual assault risk," Jan. 2012