Sexual Offenses, Adult: Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault

During the 1990s, there was an alarming increase in reports of drug-facilitated crimes, such as sexual assaults as well as in the number of scientific publications on the subject. In a typical scenario, a predator surreptitiously spikes the drink of an unsuspecting person with a sedative drug for the purpose of ‘drugging’ and subsequently sexually assaulting the victim under the influence of the drug. Victims usually report loss of memory during and after such incidents. In this chapter, basic terms are introduced. Coupled with this the extent of the problem, drugs used, analytical techniques, as well as the purpose of legislation, are also discussed.