Women in Australia are reluctant to report date rape, according to a study released July 5th by the Australian Institute of Criminology. Only 30 percent of women who had been sexually assaulted reported the crimes to the police. The Institute attributed the disturbing results of the study to persisting values that portray date rape as acceptable or inconsequential. The study also linked drug use with date rape, citing the widespread tactic of spiking drinks with alcohol and illegal drugs, therefore deceiving women into having sex. Date rape has only recently been acknowledged as a crime in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics survey in 1996, an overwhelming 89 percent of rape survivors knew the perpetrator; 55 percent were raped by current or previous partners, boyfriends or dates.
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