A revealing News.com recent article on the nature of teen under age binge drinking and the associated regret of sexual encounters has one very clear outcome for all to see, that is, 'rape claims' by young women have statistically gone "right down".
The article is initiated by stating that these teens are not old enough to drink legally, but half the nation's Year 11 students are binge drinkers and one in four are compulsive drinkers who at times lose the ability to stop.
The study found an association between alcohol consumption habits of these 17 year olds and risky and regretted sexual behaviour. Teens who were binge drinkers were two and a half times more likely to have sex, more likely to regret that sex and were three times more likely to have multiple sexual partners
Forty four per cent of those surveyed said they had had sex in the last year according to the study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health today. The study included a good cross section of the student population with 75 per cent of those surveyed coming from public schools and forty per cent came from families earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year.
The article stated that binge drinkers were almost twice as likely to have experienced an episode of sex they later regretted due to alcohol. Those who reported at least one episode of compulsive drinking in the past year were more than four times as likely to have sex they later regretted due to alcohol, than students who had not drunk compulsively,
The fascinating aspect of all this as revealed in crime statistics is that these young women who regretted having sex while binge drinking, have not claimed rape.
The statistical graph provided in the article showed that of the 450 teens surveyed 48% of young women had had sex in the past 12 months with 19% having had three or more sexual partners and 26% regretting they had sex. The male statistics are lower in the first two, yet greater in the third, associated with regret.
A generation ago
The binge drinking phenomena is unmistakeably an X and Y generation thing. Young men and young women go out specifically to drink and drink and drink and consider this to be their evening's entertainment.
Much has been written on binge drinking drama and the news casts have not been lax in reporting the adverse social outcomes with unwelcome bad behaviour and destruction or damage of property.
ReachOut.com describes binge drinking as drinking heavily on a single occasion, or drinking continuously over a number of days or weeks. A person who binge drinks may usually have restrained drinking habits, but when they drink, they don't hold back. Alternatively, someone may not necessarily set out to drink a lot, but may be unsure of their limits, resulting in drinking too much over a short period of time. People can also be more likely to binge drink if they feel peer pressure to do so, or if they're feeling awkward or uncomfortable at a party.
ReachOut.com says being drunk affects your judgement and may lead to you:
- Having unprotected sex, or unwanted sex. This could lead to unplanned pregnancy or STIs.
- Feeling bad about yourself and embarrassed by your actions.
- Losing friends or loved ones as a result of your behaviour
- Losing money that you need for other things after reckless spending on alcohol
The Salvation Army has a major web site on binge drinking and increasingly a concern is that it may lead to youth suicide. This is a very thorough discussion paper.
Binge drinking and the Rape option
The statistics and reports cited above are clearly alarming and moreover, that so many are so concerned by putting in place different methodologies to bring awareness to the nation's youth, illustrates the nature of the problem.
The behaviour of young women in binge drinking situations, where young women voluntarily and willingly put themselves into binge drinking partying without the safeguards of friends looking out for each other, with the high rate of sexual encounters is clear for all to see.
The 'afterwards' regret factor is alarming by both young men and young women yet the claim of rape has almost disappeared. There is rarely a rape call today after such a binge drinking party as a means to protect a young woman's reputation to their family.
In this sense, although both parties are under the influence of alcohol, young men are less likely now, according to these reports, to be hauled before the courts after excess-alcohol-induced 'consensual sex'.
Christian youth group programs, which sadly are seen by the secular media as boring, uneventful, and studios, but by those fully engaged in them as exciting, full of fellowship fun and moreover stimulating! Hello! Is anyone listening?
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html