According to the Department of Justice, a woman is raped every two minutes somewhere in America. One in four women is a victim of rape or attempted rape at some point in their lifetime. Yet most of these rapes aren’t committed by a stranger who approaches a woman in the street or in a back alleyway. In most cases, the women who are raped know their attacker. 84 percent of all rape cases are ones in which the woman knew her attacker, and 57 percent of these rapes happen while the woman is out on a date with the criminal. 38 percent of all raped women are between the ages 14 and 17. In addition, about 42 percent of all rapes are never reported to anyone. The majority of all rape cases involve drugs and alcohol. 55 percent of women and 75 percent of men involved in these crimes as the attacker or victim are under the influence of a substance when they are taken advantage.

More than 75 percent of all college students who experience unwanted intercourse were under the influence of alcohol or drugs when the rape occurred. Sexual; assault and acquaintance rape are most likely to occur in situation that promote sexual action, such as at rave parties. Over 60 percent of all rapes occur in residencies, and two-thirds of all young rape victims know their attacker. Date rape is legally defined as rape by an individual that the victim is acquainted. Most often, the establishment of guilt is difficult in these cases, especially when the victim has no physical evidence and only has personal testimony to try and price a case.

In a lot of cases, the victim has memory loss from the incident and cannot adequately report the crime. This is because in most cases there is a drug involved that relaxes and mentally confuses the victim. One of the most common date rape drugs is called Rohypnol. It is a drug that can be slipped into a victim’s drink and cause her to black out within an hour. Most often, the drug takes away the victim’s inhibition so that he or she won’t remember the rape or assault after it takes place.

Only 10 minutes after a victim ingests Rohypnol she will begin feeling dizzy and disoriented. The person may have a difficult time speaking and eventually will fall unconscious. During this time, criminals will normally take advantage of their victim. He or she won’t remember what happened because he or she was not conscious during the assault. The drug can even bring about temporary amnesia and an interference with mobility and verbal coherence. Sometimes it also causes a coma, sleep-walking, and a giddiness, silliness, or dizziness. Some people who ingest the drug end up with hallucinations and agitation. When combined with other drugs or alcohol, the drug can be fatal.

In other cases, a man or woman will commit date rape by causing his victim to drink excessively. He will then take advantage of her disoriented and impaired state in order to break down her inhabitations and motivate her to have sex. Women who are at risk to date rape should clearly establish their sexual boundaries early in their relationship, and make sure to avoid any situations which could cause them extreme impairment. If you have been accused of date rape, the criminal trial may be complicated. Oftentimes victims don’t have much to go off of in ways of proof, and sometimes they don’t even have any evidence at all. There are times when an angry girlfriend will accuse her boyfriend of date rape even though the crime never occurred. If you have been accused of this crime, then you need an experienced criminal defense lawyer on your side to prove your innocence and help you to try and avoid jail time and fines.