|
A report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) warned women never to accept a drink from a stranger.
''Don't leave your drink, even when going to the lavatory,'' it added. ''Take it with you.'' Its advice followed a review of the threat of sexual assaults linked to drinks which are either spiked with alcohol or drugs.
A medical study last month had suggested that many alleged victims of date rape had been rendered helpless by binge-drinking. It found no evidence that Rohypnol and GHB - drugs said to be favoured by predatory rapists - were widely used.
But the ACMD, the Government's principal advisory drugs body, said that sexual assault using spiked drinks was a "significant problem'' and that current laws failed to give protection against rapists who prey on victims who have become unconscious or semi-conscious through drink.
The council called for rape laws, which were updated just four years ago, to be strengthened to combat "opportunistic" rapists who prey on drunken women.
The 2003 Sexual Offences Act made it an offence to administer any drug with the intent to commit a sexual offence. Only last week, senior judges said the existing law was adequate to deal with allegations of rape in the context of drink.
Sir Igor Judge, the head of criminal justice, said that an alleged victim who had drunk "even substantial quantities" could still consent to sex.
He considered that the 2003 legislation provided a clear definition of "consent" for the purposes of the law.
But the ACMD report said: "Although this provision covers pro-active drug-facilitated sexual assault, it fails to provide protection against opportunistic drug-facilitated sexual assault. The council is uncertain as to whether the law could be strengthened in this respect, but recommends that the Home Secretary seeks advice from the Government's law officers."
The Home Office said: "It is important to stress that sexual assault is wholly the fault of the perpetrator, and never the responsibility of the victim, irrespective of how much he or she has had to drink. It is, however, important that potential victims are aware of the risks.''
He added: "The law already requires that in order to consent to sex, a person must have the capacity to consent. If someone is so intoxicated that they are nearly unconscious, it is unlikely that they would have such a capacity."
The council is preparing detailed reports on two chemicals legally available as cleaning fluids and industrial solvents which can be used as "date rape" drugs.
Gamma butyrolactone and 1.4-butanediol are similar to GHB, which has been implicated in sexual assault in Britain and the US.
The council is considering whether the two substances should be added to the list of controlled drugs.
The council said police chiefs should improve forensic testing for date rape drugs and also proposed that drug-facilitated sexual assault should be part of the British Crime Survey.
By Philip Johnston
| 
