Many know someone that has been affected by sexual assault.
The nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, RAINN, states an American is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds. There were 12 rapes reported in Auburn in 2016, according to city-data.com.
Lt. Jameson Presley has tips on avoiding date rape.
“First of all, get to know the person you’re going out with, try it make it a group date or make the date in a public place,” Presley said. “Definitely let your friends, family know where you’re supposed to be, who you’re going to be with and what time you expect to return. And if you’re not back at that expected time, to try to contact you on the phone.
If there is no answer, make it clear that your friend can call the police.”
Presley also noted how alcohol could lead to problems and that it’s important to know someone before going out with them.
“Alcohol tends to be involved in a lot of sexual assault cases, and so it’s best to leave that out of the equation. Don’t go home with somebody especially if you’ve been drinking, especially on first dates,” Presley said.
Presley also stressed to call 911 in the case of an emergency.
There are several new technologies that have been developed to avoid date rape and are helping to find solutions to avoid drug-facilitated sexual assault.
KnoNap is a cocktail napkin that tells you if there are certain drugs in your drink. According to KnoNap, “all someone has to do is place a few drops of their drink on a designated part of the napkin. If there is drug presence, there will be a color change around the saturated area.”
KnoNap noted how one out of every 13 college-aged individuals have suspected having a drink laced with a date-rape drug.
Another company, Drink Safe Technologies, created a coaster with a test strip that detects the drugs most commonly used to spike a drink for date rape purposes – Ketamine and Gamma Hydroxybutyrate.
Undercover Colors is a company dedicated to ending sexual assault.
Their product is a quarter-sized paper circle with foil on one side that can be ripped off.
The product works by adding one or two drops of the drink to the paper, and, after about 30 seconds, the paper will indicate either one or two lines. One line means the drink is spiked; two means it is good. According to Undercover Colors’ website, this product tests for some of the most common date-rape drugs, including Xanax and Roofies.
“We spent four years dedicating ourselves to this issue because we want to help people make informed decisions,” said Undercover Colors’ website. “While we know our test doesn’t solve the complicated problem of sexual assault, it’s something we can use now to make ourselves safer.”
Some resources the city and University have are Safe Harbor, counseling services and the Rape Counselors of East Alabama.
Experts note the importance of being aware of surroundings, letting friends and family know where you are going if you plan a date with someone new, to watch out for others and to avoid the bystander effect.
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