By Njoki Karuoya
Picture this scenario:
Girl likes boy. Boy likes girl. They agree to go out on a date. It’s in a restaurant, or in a pub, and they are having fun flirting and getting to know each other. All seems to be going well.
At one time, she goes to the ladies, returns and continues to sip her drink. When she wakes up next, she is on a strange bed, with the guy hovering over her. She is fully clothed, but she can feel, deep within her, that something is terribly wrong, though she cannot recall what.
Picture this other scenario:
Girl and guy go out on a date. They click so well and have so much fun that at the end of it, the girl agrees to have a nightcap at the guy’s place before proceeding home.
The fun continues and the girl totally relaxes, believing she’s out with an increasingly potential Mr Right. They begin kissing and both seem to enjoy it, but when the guy wants to take the action to third base, the girl resists.
The guy forces the action to the extent that the girl begins to panic, but the guy is too far gone to stop himself, plus he wants to go the full hog. Using his physical strength, he eventually has intercourse with the girl, despite her protests. At the end of it, he thanks her for the good time and sleeps. The girl waits for him to wake up and take her home.
Final scenario:
Girl plans with her galfriends to go out clubbing and enjoy a night out. She gets to the club and realises she’s the first one there. She heads to the bar counter, orders a drink and sips it slowly as she waits for her gals.
A guy joins her at the bar and they start chatting. The game is going on well. At one point, one of her friends calls to inform her she’s almost there. She looks away for a moment to replace her phone back in her handbag. The next time she opens her eyes, she is in a bush, or trench, almost naked, and bitterly cold. It’s been 36 hours since she took her last sip.
These three scenarios represent one of the scariest experiences all girls dread — to be drugged and raped yet bear no knowledge of it, or have the knowledge of it but be afraid to report it because you know not many people will believe you, considering you willingly went to his place. How do you accuse your attacker when he says the sex was consensual, or when you have no recollection of what he did, yet you have the medical evidence?
