Precautions can protect against rape on spring break

A female student is on spring break. She's having a wild time and going to parties. She gets separated from her friends and accepts a drink a stranger offers her. The drink contains the drug GHB -- a colorless, tasteless and odorless drug that incapacitates the victim. She can see and hear, and she knows what is going on, but is too weak to resist. The stranger who offered her the drink drags her into a room and rapes her.\nSuch a story is becoming more and more common, said Suzanne Pauwels, a counselor at the Sexual Assault Crisis Service in the Health Center. She said she typically sees four or five female students who have been raped during spring break.\n"There are probably more because most people don't come in right away," she said. "I've had cases where the victims went months, even years, without revealing that something happened."\nPauwels said because of the sense of invincibility and the free parties and alcohol that often accompany spring break, many students do not consider the risks. But there are precautions students can take to prevent sexual assault and rape. \nRape during spring break is not confined to wild parties and dark, strange rooms. It can happen anywhere, to anyone, Pauwels said.\nShe described a female student who was attacked in her locked hotel room during break. The student had fallen asleep after a night of drinking. She forgot to lock the balcony door and a man climbed up from his room below. The woman woke up to a strange man on top of her, raping her. \n"When drugs are involved, often the victim loses all memory of the rape but wakes up with all the signs of it," she said. \nThe victims' first reaction is usually shock, she said.\n"They ask themselves, 'This could not have happened to me? Why did this happen to me?'" Pauwels said.\nShe said victims often blame themselves. Sometimes family and friends blame the victims for putting themselves in compromising circumstances. Most victims experience a wide range of emotions, from rage to uncontrollable depression, Pauwels said.\nPauwels said victims sometimes gain weight to make themselves feel less attractive so they won't be raped again. Others develop eating disorders, she said. Some victims turn to drugs and alcohol to kill the pain of the memories, which can be so severe and vivid that the victims usually have trouble sleeping because of nightmares and flashbacks, she said.\nBut students going on spring break can take precautions to help reduce the risk.\nThe No. 1 thing students can do is to go out with their friends and be aware of their surroundings, said Jennifer Bass, head of Information Services at the Kinsey Institute. \n"Communication is the key to a fun spring break," Bass said. "People should know their limits sexually and follow their intuition when things are getting out of hand or weird, and leave." \nAnne Reese, director of Health and Wellness Education at the Health Center, agreed.\n"It's also important to moderate your use of alcohol and other drugs," she said. "Students should really pay attention to the people they're around on spring break."\nWhile other date rape drugs such as GHB, Rohypnol (Ruffies) and LSD have gotten more attention because of the increased frequency of their use, Pauwels said alcohol is still the most commonly used date rape drug. \n"It's important to know your drinking limits," Bass said. "Plan with friends where you are going, have a way out and account for each other." \nIf students think a sexual assault or rape is about to occur, Pauwels suggested they should try to call attention to themselves. She said if students are being assaulted, they should not try to fight back. That can lead to increased violence. They should try to talk to the person, be calm and try to humanize the situation, she said. \n"Often the rapist doesn't see the victim as a human -- she's just an object," Pauwels said. "For many rapists it is not just about sex; it is also about control."\nBut Pauwels said the most important thing to do if rape occurs is to get medical attention and counseling. \n"Rape can mess up a person's life badly if they don't get help," she said.\nStudents who have been sexually assaulted or raped can contact the Sexual Crisis Service in the Health Center at 855-8900.