Mike DomitrzPresident, Author, and Speaker on Respect, The Center for Respect, Inc. · Author & Speaker on Respect for Schools, Corporations, & the Military since 1990 (has reached

An incapacitated person cannot consent.

26 Sept 2023 · 1 min

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In this excerpt, the speaker interrogates how to label sexual activity that occurs only because alcohol or other drugs are used to facilitate it, concluding that it constitutes coercion. He points out that at parties, people rarely use formal terms like "sexual assault" or "coercion"; instead they employ euphemisms such as "drunk hookup," "taking advantage," or even describe the encounter as a "good time," thereby normalizing and obscuring the problematic nature of the behavior.

What do you call it then when someone uses alcohol or other drugs to facilitate sexual activity that would not happen otherwise? What do you call this? Coercion. All right, I heard sexual assault and I heard coercion. Now, what's interesting there is neither of those words are ever said at the party. Nobody says them. At the party, they might say a drunk hookup. They might say taking advantage. And you'll even hear some people call that a good time. As messed up as that is.