RAPE DRUG AWARENESS CAMPAIGN TARGETS B.C. CAMPUSES

The Ministry of Women's Equality will help fund the Canadian
Federation of Student's rape drug information campaign for campuses
across British Columbia, Minister Evelyn Gillespie announced today.

"The Canadian Federation of Students has run an extremely effective
anti-rape campaign for the past eight years," said Gillespie. "But
with the use of rape drugs increasing, we agreed that it was time to
broaden the campaign."

The ministry will contribute $20,000 to the students' public awareness
campaign, which delivers fact sheets, posters, stickers and coasters
to campuses and communities across British Columbia. The federation
will also organize a series of workshops to educate people about the
drugs.

The so-called date rape drugs-which include Rohypnol, Librium, GHB,
Robaine and chloral hydrate - are tasteless and odorless when they are
slipped into a drink. They can cause muscle relaxation,
disorientation, hallucinations, loss of inhibitions, blackouts and
memory loss. Because the victim may not remember being assaulted,
criminal prosecutions can be difficult.

"Our figures indicate that one in six women attending college or
university is a survivor of a rape," said Heather Currie, women's
liaison with the Canadian Federation of Students. "And there's an 80
per cent chance that the woman knows her attacker. We don't want women
to be too afraid to have an evening out, but they must be aware of
this risk."

"We hope this campaign will give women the information they need to
protect themselves," Gillespie said. "But we're also emphasizing that
drug assisted assault is a criminal offense. Ultimately, it's not
about a drug or a woman's behavior. The only one responsible for a
sexual assault is the attacker."