Alcohol and legitimate victimhood: Analysing Reddit posts to understand perceptions of alcohol's role in drink spiking and sexual violence

Abstract

Background

Drink spiking has gained attention in the media but remains under-researched, particularly in the context of gendered power dynamics and sexual violence. Moreover, little is known about the role of alcohol and the discourses individuals draw on when making sense of their victimisation, including how experiences are linked to notions of masculinity, femininity, stigma, embodiment and other social discourses.

Methods

We analysed 91 Reddit threads related to drink spiking using several search terms (“date rape*”, “roofie*”, “drug*”, and “drink spik*”), collecting 14,284 comments. Using a constructivist and critical feminist approach, we thematically analysed personal accounts mentioning alcohol to explore discourses and understandings of alcohol's role in drink spiking and sexual violence.

Results

Our analysis revealed an overarching discourse around alcohol's role in both validating and undermining legitimacy of victims. Victims did boundary work with alcohol and intoxication to add credibility to their accounts, drew on embodied knowledge to make sense of their experience, and faced scepticism from personal networks and service providers. Gendered discourses framed women as inherently vulnerable and men as less susceptible, shaping victims' accounts and the perception of their legitimacy.

Conclusion

This study highlights how gendered expectations and societal attitudes toward alcohol consumption reinforce victim-blaming and undermine the credibility of drink spiking victims. Addressing these structural inequities requires shifting the focus from victims’ behaviour to perpetrators and systemic failures. We recommend re-imagining alcohol's role in drink spiking, facilitating sexual violence and denying victims’ legitimacy, and interventions that go beyond restrictive notions of femininity and masculinity.