Booze or drugs are no excuse for rape - police

Wednesday 28 May 2014

The police are warning Islanders that drunkenness is not an alibi for rape as their “Ask. Listen. Respect” campaign against sexual assault continues.

It’s the third month of their campaign which aims to give people a better understanding of the crime and they are using their website and social media to answer the question “If someone’s drunk is it rape?”

Detective Sergeant Louise Clayson said: “Perpetrators often deliberately target women who have been consuming alcohol because they are thought to be more vulnerable. An attacker may choose to exploit the victim’s lack of communication as consent, but sexual contact with someone unable to agree to have sex, for whatever reason, is considered rape.

“If a person is drunk or drugged, and are incapable of making decisions for themselves, then the individual cannot legally consent to sexual activity.

“Alcohol and drugs are not an excuse – or an alibi for rape. The key question is still: did they consent or not? Regardless of whether they were drunk or sober, if the sex is non-consensual, it is rape.”

The police dealt with 17 rape cases last year and in every single case the two people involved were known to each other.

They hope to banish a different myth surrounding rape every month as part of their long-term “Ask. Listen. Respect” campaign.