Factors Associated With the Sexual Assault of Students

Abstract

Research suggests that students experience high levels of sexual assault, but studies addressing how they differ in their experiences from other sexual assault victims are virtually nonexistent. To address this gap, information was collected from consecutive individuals, aged 16 years or older, presenting to one of 7 hospital-based sexual assault treatment centers in Ontario from 2005 to 2007. Of the 882 victims seen during the study period, 32% were students. Relative to other sexual assault victims, students were more likely to be aged 16 to 18 years and 19 to 24 years versus 25 years and older. They were more likely to be living alone, with family of origin, a partner or spouse, or a nonrelative than on the street or in a shelter or institution. They were also more likely to report having consumed over-the-counter medication in the 72 hours prior to examination. Student victims were less likely than nonstudent victims to report having a disability and having used street drugs. Implications for research, education, and practice are discussed.

A multifactorial critical appraisal of substances found in drug facilitated sexual assault cases

“…There have been a number of cohort studies that report DFSA figures and drug use [9][10][11][12][13] (Fig 1).…”

“…294 cases were investigated, 200 of which were positive for drugs and/or alcohol. Another study which tried to assess covert drugging, published in 2010, was carried out in Ontario, Canada [12]. Urine was the matrix which was screened for the presence of drugs.…”

“…Each of the remaining research groups have applied different tools to identify the covert drug administration. These range from information obtained from police officers [10], comparison with victim's drug use history [12] and victim's suspicion of having been drugged [12,13].…”

“…ATS include amphetamines, cathinones and piperazines with the most often reported in DFSA being amphetamine, methamphetamine and MDMA, as well as methylphenidate, mephedrone and 3-CPP [1,9,10,12,13,24]. ATS, especially amphetamine and ecstasy, are the most commonly abused drugs among young people [25] and young adults [16].…”