Sexual assault and MDMA: the distinction between consciousness and awareness when it comes to consent.
M Abondo, Renaud Bouvet, Alain Baert, Isabelle Morel, M Le Gueut
International Journal of Legal Medicine March 2009 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-008-0305-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | A woman who was sexually assaulted after surreptitious administration of methylenedioxymethamphetamine |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Key findings | Reports the case of a woman sexually assaulted after being surreptitiously administered MDMA. Because she remained conscious and vigilant throughout, the authors state that doubt exists about whether she consented, and her ability to consent is debatable, illustrating the difficulty of proving absence of consent in drug-facilitated sexual assault cases. |
Abstract
In France, the term chemical or drug-assisted submission is usually defined as the rendering of a person vulnerable by the surreptitious administration of an active substance with the purpose of prejudicing the person or his/her possessions. If the harm is sexual assault, establishing the victim's submission involves both proving that a dangerous substance was administered, providing material evidence of the infraction (the assault), i.e. the detection of traces in a physical examination and samples, and proving the absence of consent. We report the case of a woman who was sexually assaulted after having been surreptitiously administered methylenedioxymethamphetamine. In this special case, the woman remained in a state of vigilance (conscious) throughout, so there is doubt about whether or not she consented. In other words, the ability to consent is debatable.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on MDMA, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'Eve' and 'Ecstasy'. A report of five deaths associated with the use of MDEA and MDMA Individuals whose deaths were associated with MDMA or MDEA use | 1987 | Case series | n = 5 |
| Pathology of deaths associated with "ecstasy" and "eve" misuse. Young white men aged 20 to 25 who died after using ring-substituted amphetamines (MDMA... | 1996 | Case series | n = 7 |
| 'Eve' and 'Ecstasy' Individuals who died after using MDMA or MDEA | 1987 | Case series | n = 5 |
| A Method of Conducting Therapeutic Sessions with MDMA Clients with clear therapeutic purpose, excluding those with serious functional... | 1998 | Case study | n = 2 |
| Diversity of Psychopathology Associated with use of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (‘Ecstasy’) Psychiatric patients presenting between 1990 and 1992 whose symptoms developed in the... | 1994 | Case series | n = 13 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Synthetic cathinones in drug-facilitated sexual assault: A case report involving the novel generation substituted cathinone N-ethylpentedrone and a review of the literature. Forensic Science International June 1, 2024
- Contextualizing Violence Risk Associated With Hallucinogens FOCUS: The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry 2026