A Rude Awakening on Spring Break
By: Connie Montoya

Mazatlan…Cancun…Puerto Peñasco...or in my case, the back yard. It’s spring break and it’s time to soak up the sun and have a good time. I had been working out—thank God I didn’t eat the whole flan last month—saved some money and planned every detail carefully in my head. I had even kept a written journal of things I wanted to do this week. The party at Casandra’s house on Saturday, shopping on Sunday, the movies on Monday…and so forth. Like everyone else, I had heard the warnings about drinking too much during spring break. I decided that I would only drink with people I knew and would designate a driver. I would not leave the party with anyone I didn’t know and would call my tía if I had an emergency.

My spring break started off very well but was immediately interrupted that Saturday night. We had been hanging out at the party and everyone I knew was there. One of my friends invited a guest and I couldn’t help but ask who this cute guy was. “His name is Carlos”, she said, and then added with a wink “and he’s single”. As we got to know each other Carlos and I talked some, danced a little and told some of the dumbest jokes ever. He quickly became someone I wanted to hang out with. When my friend was ready to go, I pleaded with her to stay a little longer. “Just have Carlos take you home” she said. “But I just met the guy.” I protested. “Oh come on, he’s cool. If my boyfriend trusts him, then I trust him and you can too.” “Are you sure?” I asked. “Yeah, text me when you get home and give me all the details!”

I did what I promised myself I wouldn’t do and I let my friends leave without me. Although I felt uneasy at first, I became more comfortable as we continued to talk about Juanes, school, and family. He offered to get me a Coke and being that I was extremely thirsty, was grateful and accepted it.

When I woke up, I couldn’t remember coming home, much less how I got home. I only knew that my body hurt and I felt nauseated. At that moment, I knew something was very wrong. I began to cry as my mind raced through the horrible possibilities of what may have happened. I decided to call my tía. She quickly came over and I explained everything to her. She told me that it sounded like my drink had been drugged and that I may have been sexually assaulted. “Raped?” I asked. “Yes,” she replied. I couldn’t even grasp the idea of how or why. She suggested I report the incident to the police and call La Piñon, the rape crisis center.

After giving my statement to the police, I met with an advocate of La Piñon who generously explained that this was not my fault. She explained to me that La Piñon offered services to victims of sexual assault—both past and present—such as sexual assault nurse examinations, prevention medication, forensic evidence collection, medical referral, and counseling. I couldn’t believe this had happened to me. How could Carlos? Then my advocate informed me that sexual assault is a crime of motive and opportunity and that statistically someone is sexually assaulted every two minutes in America.

When the nurse came in, she asked some questions and then began the examination. Every step of the way I was told by the advocate and the nurse what was going to happen and that I had a choice in everything that went on. I then decided to take advantage of the counseling services since the advocate said that it would good for me to talk about what had happened to someone who could help. I felt like I had regained some control over my life that morning.

Date rape drugs are powerful substances secretly administered to a victim rendering them powerless against a sexual assault. Typically these drugs are placed in a victim’s beverage which is most often alcoholic, but can be anything including water. When the drug dissolves, it is generally colorless, odorless and tasteless. The effects of these drugs may start as early as 4 to 5 minutes after ingestion and last for less than an hour, or up to 24 hours. Although there are different types of drugs used, alcohol continues to be the number one drug used in sexual assaults.

RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) offers the following 10 Spring Break Tips:

1.	Get to know your surroundings before you go out and learn a well-lit route back to your hotel or rental property.
2.	Always carry emergency cash and keep phone numbers for local cab companies handy.
3.	Form a buddy system with close friends and agree on a secret "butt in" signal for uncomfortable situations.
4.	Trust your instincts. If you feel unsafe in any situation, go with your gut.
5.	Avoid being alone or isolated with someone you don’t know and trust.
6.	Don't accept drinks from people you don't know or trust.
7.	Never leave your drink unattended, and if you do lose sight of it, get a new one.
8.	Always watch your drink being prepared.
9.	Try to buy drinks in bottles, which are harder to tamper with than cups or glasses.
10.	Avoid putting music headphones in both ears so that you can be more aware of your surroundings, especially if you are walking alone.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault:

Call 911 immediately
Call La Piñon SARS
Do not shower or bathe
Keep the clothes you were wearing, specifically undergarments