Is it normal i don't think drunken sex qualifies as rape?

I heard about a case recently in which a very drunken woman came onto a drunken man and they had sex. Later this man was convicted of rape.

I don't understand why she would not also be charged with rape if drunken sex is rape and they were both intoxicated.

This made me think that if this same reasoning was applied to cars no women could ever be charged with a DUI because, by that reasoning, the car drove her. Somehow. In fact what ever a drunken women initiated by this reasoning would in fact make her a victim. If she robbed a bank while drunk then again the bank robbed her. Somehow.

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60% Normal
Based on 20 votes (12 yes)
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Comments ( 34 )
  • dom180

    If the case really is *that* simple, I'm inclined to agree.

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  • Shackleford96

    I'm inclined to agree.

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    • anti-hero

      Same here, since they were both drunk.

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  • 1000yrVampireKing

    When people are drunk they might not always be able to fight back. If they are drunk to the point of falling over you can force them into having sex and they might not put up a fight. Some people have what they call "Roofy" or other things put into a drink so they can rape them. Different kinds of drugs like this all meant to make easier prey to rape. It also is considered wrong by some people to hit on someone who is drunk. Since they do not know what they are doing. I would never go home with a drunk women as easy as she might seem. She is not in her right mind at the time. If you are both drunk and do each other neither of you knew what the hell you were doing. This is a trick many people use to get with a women. Wait till she is nice and drunk and see if she will go for it. While in this case if no one given anything to her and she was just drunk I think this is questionable unlike the other scenarios.

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  • quentari

    If the woman was drunk and the man was not it can be rape, and a man who is drunk and has sex with a sober woman is allowed to call it rape but it's harder to make a case and most guys seem to be of the mind "whatever, I got laid."

    If two drunk people had sex though neither can be held responsible, there must have been some extenuating circumstances around it for her to have made a case.

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    • I'd being willing to bet most married couples have had sex in which one person was mostly sober and the other was drunk. Are you saying that most married couples have engaged in the rape of each other? Probably multiple times.

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      • quentari

        It CAN be classed as rape. If a girl at a bar was blind drunk, could barely walk and some 100% sober guy has sex with her can that be classed as consentual? and I didn't say that I 100% agree with that law, just that that is indeed the law. (in australia anyway)

        Either way it'd take some effort to get someone convicted of rape for having sex while drunk, as I mentioned the girl would have to be completely wasted and the guy completely sober and usually with some evidence that it was rape. (eg the guy was purposefully getting her drunk so that her inhibitions would lower and he could have sex with her, he was someone who was always asking her out and she always said no etc)

        As for the married couples thing up until a little while ago it was impossible for a man to rape his wife even if he held her down while she screamed "no", so I think that probably wouldn't count.

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    • Justsomejerk

      By your logic I can rape as many drunk chicks as I like provided I am also drunk.

      I don't think level of intoxication should be a factor, it isn't a valid defence in criminal cases.

      If sex is consensual it is sex, if there is no consent it is rape.

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      • quentari

        If she says "no" regardless of how drunk she is it's rape, the "If two drunk people had sex though neither can be held responsible" quote is a defense for men if she wakes up the next day and decides to regret it, not a defense for rapists.

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        • Justsomejerk

          I think we agree, I read more into what you said than what you were saying.

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          • quentari

            lol :P

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  • dirtybirdy

    Don't'cha know women are innocent victims no matter what? We're too weak and stupid to be responsible for our actions. There's a taste of sarcasm there, it may be too subtle for your palate.

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    • NotStrangeBird

      Too bad about that last sentence. Id've bought you some drinks.

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      • dirtybirdy

        Now where is my fuckin beer!?!? Birdy be nice!! No! Forget it! Cant you read minds?! Too late now. Pffffff!!!!!

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        • NotStrangeBird

          It's brewing, it's brewing, relax.

          Check back with me in 3weeks for a bacchanalian seduction!

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          • dirtybirdy

            Well??

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            • NotStrangeBird

              Enjoy a fresh-brewed Birdweiser!!!

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          • dirtybirdy

            *writes it on calendar*

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      • dirtybirdy

        Ah well I hardly drink anymore anyway. It could have gotten a little silly and/or rapey. Feel free to put your beer goggles on though.

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  • kingsleycrowne

    sounds like victimization, or she wanted to get back at him for something. There's a piece missing from this story.

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  • Fabulous

    Not rape, but if it was I'd have thousands of years in prison time. They didn't believe that my penis raped and I resisted but it wouldn't let me.

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  • disthing

    Link to relevant case please?

    I'm sceptical it's as simple as you suggest it is, so I'd like to see for myself.

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    • howaminotmyself

      I am not familiar with the case the OP is talking about but a friend of mine was convicted of rape for drunk sex. She was technically a minor and they both got black out drunk. They were at a party, they got wasted, and woke up to the realization that sex happened with no memory of the night. Her parents sued and won. Now he has a record and is on the official sex offenders list. I think he was around 21. It's a sad story. I don't know how frequently it happens, and I think some areas may be easier to get a conviction. This happened in California. She had fancy lawyers, he only had the public defender assigned to him.

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      • disthing

        That sounds like a ridiculous miscarriage of justice :/

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      • Sorry to hear about your friend. I have heard of similar cases like this.

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        • disthing

          What was the case you were referring to in the original post?

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          • Well I don't want to talk about cases I have heard of local to me because while they don't involve me it is other people's private information. However what really inspired me to post this was the following:

            Rebecca Watson
            "If you have sex w/ someone who is drunk, they are unable to consent & that is rape."
            <a href="http://skepchick.org/2012/12/twitter-users-sad-to-hear-they-may-be-rapists/" rel="nofollow">http://skepchick.org/2012/12/twitter-users-sad-...</a>

            I don't understand how a woman can be charged with a DUI or any other crime while drunk but not be responsible for who she decides to sleep with. If someone makes a decision while drunk and regrets it when sober I don't see how this makes it someone else's fault.

            My hypothetical example would be say two people attack and harm someone you care about. One of the two was drunk and the other was not. The drunk one says it is all the sober person's fault because they were convinced by that person to do it so they never truly consented to be part of the crime. The law then lets that drunk person go and blames everything on the sober person. Would you see that as a fair and just decision?

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            • quentari

              I honestly can't find the article that you're talking about on that blog site, but are you really going to bother with all this over a blog?

              And the issue isn't "drunk people get away with anything" but "A very drunk woman can't give proper consent to a sober man", but maybe I'm missing something since I can't actually find the post you are referencing on that website.

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  • Gravy

    Lock in it as law and watch the birth rate drop in the West without beer goggles aiding in procreation.

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  • IronHead

    Several years ago, I had sex with a female friend (whom had a boyfriend at the time) after a night of heavy drinking. About a week later she stopped talking to me out of nowhere, and our friendship was over. I found out sometime later that she'd been telling people I date-raped her. She never got the police involved or anything, but she tried to ruin my reputation. Most people believed her, but didn't really seem to care.

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  • shade_ilmaendu

    I think it really depends on the circumstances. I've gotten pretty drunk but still been very well in control of my thoughts and actions, even if I couldn't control where my feet were going too well. XD But I've seen people get so drunk I wouldn't trust them to make sound decisions.

    I'm a girl and I have a rule for myself that if a guy who's propositioning me at a party seems too drunk, I'll turn him down. I don't wanna be the lay he doesn't remember or for him to wake up in the morning and regret his actions.

    I think it's a good thing to keep someones level of intoxication in mind in these circumstances, just because I've never been so drunk as to not know what I was doing doesn't mean that everyone reacts to alcohol the same way as me and I always try to take that into consideration. But it is a huge grey area, I don't think just being drunk and hooking up qualifies. But if you are drunk or under the influence of anything, it's definitely important to draw clear lines of consent first. Even outside the situation of someone being raped, mistakes could still be made and you have to consider the intoxication into making sure you're still engaging in safe sex as well.

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  • NotStrangeBird

    Drunk sex sucks, not worth my time.

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