Researchers Find a Culture of Sexual Violence Among Young Adult Opioid Drug Users

A new study by researchers at the National Development and Research Institutes, a not-for-profit organization in New York City that focuses on substance abuse issues, Long Island University, and New York University, finds that sexual violence is prevalent among young adult opioid drug users. The research found that 41 percent of young women and 11 percent of young men who used opioid drugs reported that they had been forced to have sex without their consent.

Pedro Mateau-Gelabert, a co-author of the study, said that many young drug users “reported exchanges of sex for drugs or money that increased their risk of sexual violence. We found that the drug-using context facilitated victimization of users who were unconscious or semi-conscious as a result of using drugs.”

Lauren Jessell, lead author of the research, added that “when drugs were provided free of cost to potential partners, there was an expectation that those receiving the drugs would provide sexual favors in return. Many users described fulfilling these implicit quid pro quo expectations with mostly men who have sex with men and female users providing sexual favors to males who provided them with drugs.”

The article, “Sexual Violence in the Context of Drug Use Among Young Adult Opioid Users in New York City,” was published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. It may be accessed here.