By Penelope Castillo
It’s something that never crosses your mind when you’re getting ready with your friends, having that first drink before you set off to the club that you’re all excited about going to.
Finally, you get into the club after standing in the cold for over 40 minutes. One of your friends says: “Let’s all do shots” and without even thinking, 
Within 20 minutes you have effortlessly consumed two shots of tequila and had two vodka lime and lemonades.
The group is caught in the throes of all that alcohol hitting the brain and turn to head to the dance floor and put your drink down. You think it will be ok if I keep an eye on it.
After dancing you go back to your drink and as expected it doesn’t taste any different, and you persuade yourself that nothing could have happened in the time you left it. Suddenly you start feeling very drunk, disorientated and dizzy, you have a rationalise that maybe it’s because you have hardly eaten all day to fit into your new dress. It doesn’t cross your mind that 1 in 4 women have experienced rape or attempted rape.
Suddenly you turn around all your friends are gone and your unable to see them. Everything becomes blurry, next thing you know you’ve been thrown out of the club for being too drunk, you open your eyes and you’re in a alley way and being approached by what looks like three men.
We all know someone who it has happened to or someone who knows someone that it has happened to, so why do we think this will never happen to me “I’m too carful”. The truth is you can never been too carful. 97% of callers to Rape Crisis Lines knew their assailant prior to the assault and at least 47,000 adult women are raped every year in the UK.
These are all cause for concern. We seem to have a big drive in the UK of trying to make girl’s aware and advising club staff what to watch out for, this last for about two months and then is forgotten about until we read another case in the paper of were a girl died or almost died. The truth of the matter it happens every day and to prevent it we are the only ones who can protect ourselves.
Sally Damby how works at Date Crisis helpline has some tips on how to say safe. “It doesn’t matter if you think you know someone is safe don’t let them buy you a drink and bring it over to you, go to the bar with them. Don’t leave your drink even when you think you will be able to see, it only takes a second for someone to tamper with your drink. Tell someone you trust if you feel strange or too drunk”.
It’s important to remember that if you’ve already been drinking, it may make you less aware of any danger. Girls let’s keep each other safe don’t leave your friends under any circumstances. 40% of adults who are raped are so ashamed tell no one about it.
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