Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault

  • Consider patient may have consensually ingested mind-altering substances and may be experiencing guilt or blame.
  • Many substances will impair a person’s memory and ability to consent to sexual intercourse.
  • Sexual assault may involve voluntary or involuntary ingestion of alcohol or other substances by the patient or the perpetrator. Regardless if patients ingested the alcohol or substance voluntarily or involuntarily, their ability to consent to sexual activity may be impaired.
  • Memory deficits range from vague recollection to no memory at all.
  • Presenting symptoms of DFSA may include any of the following:
    • Confusion,
    • Drowsiness,
    • Nausea and/or vomiting,
    • Slurred speech,
    • Lethargy, fatigue, weakness,
    • Impaired judgment,
    • Lack of muscle coordination, and/or
    • Impaired memory or amnesia for events.
  • Laboratory samples (typically blood and urine) should be collected as soon as possible and stored in a secured refrigerator for chain-of-custody transfer to law enforcement.
  • Even if negative laboratory results may indicate no substance is present, a substance may be present but not at detectable levels, or negative results may be due to the presence of a drug for which a test is not available or executed.