Substance Use & Safety in College Life
Binge Drinking
What is Binge Drinking?
Simply put, binge drinking occurs when a person heavily uses alcohol over a short period of time, usually around 2 hours in time. One is considered to have engaged in binge drinking when their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is elevated to 0.08% or higher (NIAAA). For an average adult, this comes out to be about 4 standard drinks in a row for biological females and 5 standard drinks in a row for biological males.
One is considered to engage in heavy drinking when this pattern of excessive drinking occurs on a more regular basis over several short periods (e.g. over a week), and looks like about 8 or more standard drinks a week for biological women or 15 or more standard drinks for biological men.
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Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault
Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA)
Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) is when alcohol or other drugs are used in a way that compromises a person's ability to consent to sexual activity and when sexual activity occurs anyway, despite the individual's inability to provide consent.
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The organization, RAINN, describes two ways in which DFSA occurs:
1) When a perpetrator exploits someone's voluntary substance use.
2) When someone is purposefully given drugs or alcohol (including drugs being slipped into drinks) to impair their ability to consent.
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No matter how it happens, drugging someone or taking advantage of them while they’re impaired is assault. It’s a violation of their rights—and it’s never the victim’s fault.