Drunk Sex or Date Rape: Can You Tell The Difference? Click here to watch clips of this program

A one-hour interactive program for male and female audiences of all sizes.

Brett Sokolow is a higher education attorney who specializes in sexual misconduct and campus security. He is the President of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management. Brett is the Editor of the Report on Campus Safety and Student Development, and the author of ten books on campus security, sexual misconduct and campus judicial affairs.

Brett draws on his legal experience to facilitate this interactive jury exercise where the audience "hears" a trial based on a real sexual assault case. Brett has presented this program at over 1000 colleges and high schools with resounding success.

HOW DRUNK IS TOO DRUNK?
Some students on our campuses today engage in a hook-up culture of random sexual encounters with other students, usually fueled by alcohol. But, just because some students are getting drunk and hooking-up doesn't make it right, or legal. When does a hook-up cross the line? Students don't really know, and they've heard confusing messages. This program teaches students about incapacity and blackouts, and dispels common myths about alcohol and sex.

WHAT IS INCAPACITY?
During the first 15 minutes of the program, Brett introduces the audience to Todd and Amy, two students involved in a drunken sexual interaction after a party. Audience members learn the facts of the case, knowing that they will play the role of jury, deciding whether Todd sexually assaulted Amy, or that he is not guilty. Once Brett shares the facts of the case, jury members ask questions about the situation and the legal standards. Brett uses the Q&A to help jury members understand blackouts, incapacitation, the legal actual/constructive knowledge standard, the "myth of puking" and how incapacity can invalidate consent.

NO CAPACITY=NO CONSENT
Once the jury's questions are answered, the audience takes a vote. 50/50? 60/40? 80/20? How will your students vote? Every jury is different, but no jury is ever unanimous about Todd and Amy. After the vote, jury members share with the rest of the audience. Was Amy incapacitated? Why or why not? Did Todd know it? Should he have? The debate rages and students are influenced by the viewpoints of their peers.

MAKING ASSUMPTIONS IS MAKING A MISTAKE
Brett ends the program with a strong message about drunk sex, and the lessons that we can take from the case of Todd and Amy and other cases like it. More importantly, students draw their own conclusions from the case and take away lessons about their own behavior and decisions, and how to reduce their own risk.

BACK TO TOP