I was heartbroken to see this news article yesterday morning. (Multiple Women Have Been Drugged in Downtown Albuquerque) Heartbroken and horrified for the women who underwent the experience of simply being out and getting drugged. The women in the article didn’t mention being aware of sexual assault, but even if they weren’t attacked, the question remains… was someone else? As it is, given that they mentioned blacking out, it’s a good thing they didn’t end up driving and killing themselves or someone else… all because someone out there thought it was a good idea to drug them.
When I wrote Escaping Paradise, I wrote non-consensual drug use into the first sexual encounter between Jon and Alyssa. It was hot, and it was well-received by the readers. It was also fiction.
What works in fantasy doesn’t always, and shouldn’t always, translate into reality. This is one of those things. Being drugged is terrifying, dangerous, and is all about someone else trying to take power away from you.
I want to be abundantly clear about my position on this topic.
No one has the right to drug another person, at any time, for any reason, ever, without consent.
If you are ever drugged, or were in the past, it was NOT your fault that it happened.
Anything that happened to you while you were drugged is NOT your fault.
Anything you did while you were drugged is NOT your fault.
If you know anyone who had this chilling experience, remember that it’s not their fault. It’s not about what they were wearing, whether they went out alone, whether “that bar is bad” or even the time of day. It’s about someone else taking their personal agency away, and it’s never the victim’s fault.
It’s the fault of the asshole who doesn’t think the people they’re drugging are people.
Kambry Ellis 