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27. 06. 12. - 17:28
Campaign against rape drug
by Lisa Walzel
A new campaign has been started recently to make people, especially women, aware of the danger of knockout drops.
Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek (SPÖ), the minister for women, and Sandra Frauenberger (SPÖ), the city councillor of women, say that particularly now in the summer break they want to inform about 'the new face of violence' - as knockout drops are now known.
They insist that this topic has to be more generally known. Women and girls have to be informed about how to protect themselves - for example, never leave drinks unattended.
Due to the fact that the drops are tasteless it is easy to slip them into unattended drinks to make women defenceless, rob or rape them. According to Mrs Frauenberger there is no particular target group that is especially affected - every female from teenagers through to 40-year-old women could fall victim to the date rape drug.
An additional problem is that substances that are needed to produce knockout drops are available and purchasable on the internet.
So the goal of the campaign is to raise awareness. A flyer that solely deals with this topic has been produced by the ministry. It consists of information about how to protect yourself and what to do if you fell victim to knockout drops.
Additionally there is a helpline for women against violence: 0800 222 555.
