DATE-RAPE DRUG DIALOGUE BEGINS

Eye-Opening Visit to Club Culture Reinforces Need to Reach
Youth

Lyndsay Daniel says the past weekend she spent at the NRG/Kingdom
nightclub raising awareness of the dangers of date-rape drugs and
sexual assault has reinforced the need to continue spreading the message.

The education co-ordinator of Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention
Services of Halton (SAVIS) helped set up an information booth inside
the popular club Friday and Saturday evening. The booth was intended
to remind hundreds of weekend party-goers to be cautious of their
drinks possibly being spiked with potentially-fatal drugs.

Daniel said Friday night went really well, with an older crowd
frequenting the hot spot. Many of them -- a big percentage of them
male, she said -- were very interested in hearing SAVIS's message
about the perils of date-rape drugs, what to do to protect yourself
and other general information about sexual assault. Free crisis phone
numbers contained in a lipstick capsule were given out to female club
patrons.

"We were just telling them it's a very serious issue," Daniel, 25,
said in recounting the two nights. "I was very blunt with them. I
asked them, 'Do you have a mother, do you have a sister, and that is
when they really started to pay attention.

"They asked questions like, 'Where does this happen, does it happen
here, is this really a big deal?' People were engaging in a dialogue."

But Saturday night, which was an all-ages night with an average age of
13-16, was an eye-opening experience for Daniel, she said.

"There was a lot of giggling. I was less able to have a dialogue with
them whereas Friday night people were asking questions."

Daniel said the clothing of the Saturday night crowd -- "there was so
much skin", she said -- and the sexually-charged dancing hit her right
between the eyes.

"It was overwhelming to see what has changed in the last 10 years
since I was 16," she said, noting some teens were vulgar when given
free condoms to promote responsible sexual behaviour. "It was very,
very sexual, I couldn't believe it.

"Seeing what we saw Saturday night only reinforces we need to get out
there. We plan to make this an issue in Halton."

Daniel said she put up a tack board with half of it full of
information about date-rape drugs. The more common drugs used are GHB
(gamma hydroxybutyrate) and Rohypnol, both marketed once as general
anesthetics.

They can easily be slipped into a drink putting a person -- targets
are usually female -- into an altered state, leaving them vulnerable
to sexual assault.

The other half of the board contained information about sexual
assault.

NRG general manager Dan Murray said he's proud to have been the first
club to provide SAVIS a venue to spread their message about protecting
against sexual assault. He hopes the campaign continues.

"It went really well. They had talked to lots of people."

Daniel, noting the group received $130 in donations the two nights,
said she'll be contacting more clubs and bars to set up information
booths.

"We believe this needs to get to north Halton as well."

Anyone interested in having SAVIS set up an information booth can call
the group at 905-825-3622.