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Aug 23, 2022
The city of West Hollywood announced a new program aimed at improving nightlife safety, particularly related to date rape drugs and sexual assault.
The City Council approved a plan to purchase and hand out drink-spiking test strips to local bars, restaurants, and patrons, according to a local ABC 7 Los Angeles report. The initiative is an effort to “drive down the number of sexual assaults happening in the area,” according to CBS News Los Angeles.
“If this would have been available to me at the nightclub, on New Year’s Eve 7 years ago, I would not have been drugged and I would not have been assaulted,” Keely Field told CBS L.A.
“Because once they’ve survived it, they’re terrified,” Field reportedly said as she held back tears. “They’re scarred for life. And all I can do is help prevent it. It’s preventable.”
The testing strips are designed to detect common date rape drugs, such as Rohypnol, GHB, and ketamine. By placing a drop of one’s drink on the testing strip, a user may confirm whether or not it’s safe. Users may also scan a QR code with safety information.
Distribution of the date rape drug testing strips reportedly began on Monday, with a number of West Hollywood leaders and volunteers canvassing the city and handing out 2,500 kits.
Councilmembers hosted a meeting Monday evening which included a discussion on nightlife safety at the council chambers, ABC Los Angeles reported. After the meeting, West Hollywood officials also addressed recent reports of people who believe they were secretly drugged while out in the city, CBS L.A. confirmed.
According to ABC 7:
“The enactment of the program comes after people reported that they may have been drugged at venues in the city.”
“Between 2016 and 2021, a report came out there were 30 sexual assaults tied to drink spiking in WeHo,” public safety commissioner Jackie Steele told CBS Los Angles. “And only three of those have cases filed with the [District Attorney]. We don’t have a current update on those.”
Steele also reportedly indicated that 53% of those sexual assaults happened at the same establishment. She called for that specific business to “institute better training and transparency,” CBS L.A. reported.
Steele urged officials to action, including:
“It’s a growing problem everywhere,” Mayor Pro Tempore Sepi Shyne said to CBS Los Angeles, noting that that the program was but one aspect of a larger push to make nightlife in West Hollywood safer.
The goal of such a multi-faceted approach is to, “… let any predators know, you will be caught. You will be caught,” she said to CBS. “We are giving people test strips – don’t come into our city anymore.”
West Hollywood officials are also discussing potentially creating a sexual assault task force as well as a mobile unit to help possible victims, according to CBS L.A.
A November 2005 report from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) shed light on just how common date rape is in the United States. Researchers reportedly gave drug tests to 144 women who had alleged being the victims of sexual assault and who had come to clinics for an exam.
The following results were confirmed, according to a report from fivethirtyeight.com:
However, as the fivethirtyeight.com report noted:
“…those numbers don’t quite reveal what percentage of assault victims were drugged. One date-rape drug (clonazepam) was found only in people to whom it had been prescribed. Another date-rape drug (flunitrazepam, also known as Rohypnol or roofies) was found in several women both at their initial visit and at follow-ups, suggesting that they were taking it regularly, possibly as a sedative or anti-anxiety drug, and had not necessarily been given it by their assailant.”
“To gain a clear sense of what drugs might have been given surreptitiously to a woman who had been assaulted, the DOJ researchers compared the drugs in a victim’s system to what she reported taking herself, and to the drugs in her system at a follow-up visit. Based on this data, the researchers estimated that 4.2% of the women reporting assault had been surreptitiously drugged,” fivethirtyeight.com reported.
Equally concerning, as the above report noted, is the fact that drugs used in sexual assaults are actually much more common when victims take the drugs intentionally and then a rapist takes advantage of their incapacitation.
“The DOJ estimated that more than a third of the women in the study (35.4%) had been the victims of a drug-facilitated sexual assault when these cases were included,” fivethirtyeight.com reported.
After dozens of women came forward with reports of sexual assault against high-profile entertainer Bill Cosby, Showtime released a documentary earlier this year examining the history of predatory behavior which has been alleged in multiple civil lawsuits.
Sam Dordulian, founder of DLG and former sex crimes prosecutor, wrote that although Cosby’s sexual assault conviction was overturned on a procedural issue in 2021, the evidence against the former entertainer is not negated.
“Cosby’s conviction being overturned was of course disappointing for any sexual assault survivor or victim advocate. But it’s important to keep in mind that Cosby was never found not guilty, and the initial conviction by a jury of his peers is an indication that survivors of sexual assault can obtain justice against even the most powerful men. The overturning of the conviction was based on a procedural issue, but that doesn’t negate the overwhelming evidence against Cosby,” Dordulian wrote.
Moreover, as Dordulian noted, the victories in civil court against Cosby are evidence of overall progress.
“Cosby has settled civil suits by at least eight women who claimed they were sexually assaulted by the comedian. Cosby has gone so far as to assert that he didn’t settle those claims in actuality, noting that AIG, his insurance carrier, would ultimately be responsible for the payouts. But, as with Cosby’s conviction being overturned, that’s actually a small detail that should not overshadow the overall importance of survivors who have successfully secured justice.”
Dordulian Law Group (DLG) is a full-service, premier sexual assault firm offering survivors an all-encompassing support network in addition to expert legal representation. Our SAJE Team (Sexual Assault Justice Experts) is comprised of dedicated professionals who have been helping survivors for over 25 years:
If you’ve been victimized by a sexual predator through a date rape or other type of incident, contact DLG’s SAJE Team today via 866-GO-SEE-SAM to file a claim and pursue the justice you deserve.
There is never any upfront fee for DLG’s expert legal representation. Clients don’t pay a penny until after we’ve successfully secured a maximum damages award for claims. If we don’t win, you pay nothing – it’s that simple.
Our experienced attorneys can help you pursue a financial award for your sexual assault case. Contact us online or by phone for a free consultation today.
But when you choose DLG to handle your sexual assault case, you can be confident that we will provide the utmost compassion, discretion, and professionalism in pursuit of justice on your behalf.
Sam Dordulian is an award-winning sexual abuse lawyer with over 25 years' experience helping survivors secure justice. As a former sex crimes prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney for L.A. County, he secured life sentences against countless sexual predators. Mr. Dordulian currently serves on the National Leadership Council for RAINN.
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