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Published (Version of Record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Vulnerability of individuals on mental health medications to drug facilitated sexual assaults
Forensic science international. Synergy, Vol.9, 100550
2024
Abstract
Drink spiking in social settings is one of the most pervasive forms of drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA). There are no current data in Australia on the rates of drink spiking or their associated assaults. There is also little known about the prevalence of different substances involved and how the current substance use trends compare to sexual assault trends. To explore this, a recalculation of sexual assault trends to estimate substance related sexual assault was performed. Data about recent trends of mental health prescriptions and sexual assault were obtained from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The analysis of these datasets highlighted that females are the highest consumers of antidepressants and benzodiazepines. Results also indicated a statistically significant positive correlation between females and a higher incidence of sexual assault (r = 0.996, p < .001). This paper demonstrates that females are at most risk of drug-drug interactions (e.g., diazepam and ketamine) with their medications due to the higher rate of prescriptions amongst this population, and therefore more vulnerable to both opportunistic and proactive DFSA. While these findings are preliminary and not causal, they highlight trends in need of further study.
Details
- Title
- Vulnerability of individuals on mental health medications to drug facilitated sexual assaults
- Authors/Creators
- Marie Lynam - School of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, AustraliaDavid Keatley - Murdoch University, Centre for Biosecurity and One HealthGarth Maker - School of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, AustraliaJohn Coumbaros - School of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia
- Publication Details
- Forensic science international. Synergy, Vol.9, 100550
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V.
- Identifiers
- 991005701370307891
- Copyright
- © 2024 The Authors.
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Biosecurity and One Health; Centre for Computational and Systems Medicine; School of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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