Can You Drug Someone with Alcohol? Victim and Perpetrator Interpretations of the Use of Alcohol in Drugging Incidents

• In Event: Taking a Closer Look: Varying Perspectives on Drugging Victimization and Perpetration

Abstract

Drugging victimization is commonly defined as being administered a drug or alcohol without consent. Since the early 1990s, alcohol has been identified as the most frequently encountered drug in instances of drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA). However, some scholars have argued that drugging victimization estimates may be artificially inflated by the conflation of alcohol with other intoxicants, particularly for incidents in which alcohol is consumed willingly. Using in-depth interview data with 52 individuals who experienced drugging victimization and/or who drugged others, this study examines whether and in what contexts the surreptitious administration of alcohol constitutes a form of drugging. Interview participants delineated a range of interpretations concerning whether and in which contexts adding alcohol to a nonalcoholic beverage or adding additional alcohol to an alcoholic beverage counts as drugging. Some considered it an indisputable form of drugging, others claimed it is only drugging when the intent of the perpetrator is misleading or malicious, and some participants maintained that the surreptitious administration of alcohol should never be categorized as drugging. Distinguishing the various interpretations of the use of alcohol in drugging is particularly important so to better understand drugging experiences beyond DFSA.

Authors

• Nicole Lasky, Northeastern State University

• Bonnie Fisher, University of Cincinnati

• Suzanne Swan, University of South Carolina