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No Cheer for Some this Christmas
Drink spiking

No Cheer for Some this Christmas

Many of us look forward to Christmas as a time of cheerful festivities celebrated with family and loved ones. However, for survivors of incest, Christmas is often a time of anxiety, emotional pain and loneliness.

Sara Pane of the Brisbane Rape and Incest Survivor’s Support Centre says that “A challenge for incest survivors over Christmas is engaging with family, which was, and may continue to be, the context in which they experienced sexual abuse. This can increase post traumatic symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares and body memories, and give rise to difficult emotions such as fear, anger and grief.”

Perpetrator’s of sexual violence are often included in family events and may have convinced other family members that the survivor is a liar or mentally unsound if she has disclosed the sexual abuse. As a result, families often fail to respond to survivors in respectful and supportive ways and instead act to protect the perpetrator.

For survivors who make the choice not to engage with family who are unsafe or unsupportive, Christmas can be an overwhelmingly lonely time, giving rise to the grief of not having a loving, caring family to celebrate with.

The result of the trauma and grief experienced by incest survivors, especially over the Christmas period, can lead to depression and suicidal intentions.

“Support work at BRISSC, in the post-Christmas period is often about supporting women in relation to the negative effects of family interaction or isolation. At this time of year, we often support women who are experiencing acute suicidality.”

Support for survivors of childhood incest over the Christmas break is available through the Statewide Sexual Assault Helpline on 1800 010 120 between 7am and 11pm daily.

http://www.brissc.org.au

Drink spiking

Drink spiking is a serious offence; it is illegal to introduce a drug into the body of another person without their knowledge or consent.

Drink spiking is being used by rapists around the world as a tactic to take away women's ability to fight back and to remember what happened. Drug assisted rape either through substances taken voluntarily or covertly through drink spiking is commonly reported in Brisbane. While Alcohol itself is the most common drug used by rapists to incapacitate their target, the use of other drugs with memory suppressing qualities is becoming more prevalent.

In Australia in 2002, approximately a quarter of victims of sexual assault reported that they had been drugged. More than 90% of victims of drug-assisted sexual assault are women, and more than a third of all victims are aged 16-24 years. In about a third of cases the offender is known to the victim as a friend or acquaintance, this is also known as date rape. (Fact Sheet from Australian Drug Foundation, Victoria).

Many women who are raped under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol are unsure about what happened because of limited or no memories. They may have woken up feeling disorientated or with a memory lapse and had a feeling or thought that someone may have had sex with them, but they may have no memory of it. Women may also have internal injuries or soreness.

Often people who are raped under the influence of drugs or alcohol (whether they were consumed voluntarily or not) may have difficulty speaking out and may decide against reporting to the police. Drink spiking and drug assisted rape is a form of sexual violence that is difficult to detect. It is difficult to know the extent of drink spiking in the community because of these difficulties in reporting,

This Month is Sexual Violence Awareness Month, an annual awareness raising month when community organisations seek to bring attention to issues such as drink spiking, rape, incest, child sexual abuse and all other forms of sexual violence.

Current statistics reflect that the rates of sexual violence are unacceptable. One in four women experience sexual violence by the time they turn eighteen (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1996).

Sexual Violence Awareness month culminates in an annual Reclaim the Night‚ rally and march, protesting violence against women and children, to be held in Brisbane on Friday the 31st of October 2003. The theme of Brisbane‚s Reclaim the Night Celebration this year is Deny Sexual Violence a Future.

A women's collective meets Tuesday nights from 6-8 pm at 15 Morrisey St Woolloongabba to organise the Rally, march and festival as well as community actions to raise awareness about drink spiking, legally sanctioned child abuse on access visits and other forms of sexual violence. Please call the Brisbane Rape and Incest Survivors Support Centre on 3391 2573 for more information.

http://www.brissc.com.au