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When people think of sexual misconduct, it's often the stories of celebrities that are publicized that we recall. But sexual misconduct goes on constantly, usually behind closed doors, and frequently goes unreported. Even more startlingly is the role of drugs and alcohol in the phenomenon of sexual misconduct we're seeing.
Sexual misconduct refers to any form of sexually perceived conduct that is unwanted. This covers and includes all forms of harassment, discrimination, assault, or violence involving sex. All workplaces and educational institutions are required to follow and enforce policies relating to sexual misconduct, including mandatory reporting in most cases. Examples of this include Title IX, a federal policy enforced on all colleges and universities that accept federal financial support.
What isn't being addressed is the role of substance use in these incidents that occur daily across our country in many different situations. For example, a study performed among college students found that 74 percent of perpetrators involved in rape were under the influence of alcohol. This doesn't even include other substances the person may have consumed other than or in addition to alcohol.
Even more astounding is that 55 percent of the victims surveyed were under the influence of alcohol. Again, this doesn't account for other substances but shows that more than half of the rape victims interviewed had been consuming alcohol.
If one were to take this seriously, they could effectively reduce rates of rape by aiming to eliminate alcohol use among college-aged people. The combined results from reducing alcohol rates could drastically lower rates of sexual misconduct.
Unsurprisingly, we find that victims of sexual assault are far more likely to end up abusing drugs and alcohol. According to Mind Wise, victims of sexual abuse are 13 times more likely to use alcohol and 26 times more likely to use drugs than those who have not been sexually abused. This happens because people often use substances to deal with trauma and pain, which can become unhealthy.
There seems to be a perpetuating theme where sexual and substance use have a close and complex relationship. There's certainly more to be learned in this area, but without knowing why, we can make one safe assumption. Lowering rates of substance use can be effective in lowering rates of sexual misconduct.
While not an easy problem to solve, addiction may offer the path of least resistance to reducing sexual misconduct. Drugs and alcohol set the stage for a host of problems and poor decisions. This isn't to say that all acts of sexual misconduct can be blamed on substances. But we can see that one certainly opens the door for the other to enter.
We should do our best to keep that door closed.
Michael Leach has spent most of his career as a health care professional specializing in substance use disorder and addiction recovery.