Since they’re both associated with pleasure and feeling good, it would only seem logical that sex and alcohol go well together. Right?  Not necessarily! 

While the disinhibiting effect of alcohol (that feeling of relaxation that you sometimes feel when you drink) can sometimes help the development of intimate relationships, excessive drinking can lead straight to disaster, when it comes to both romantic relationships and sexual experience. In addition, excessive drinking can create another set of problems, including the increased vulnerability to various forms of sexual violence. This is the main finding of Éduc’alcool’s latest publication on alcohol and sex

The report paints a picture of the known and lesser-known issues of excessive drinking and its effects. It examines the consequences on sexual functioning and risky sexual behaviours, in addition to dealing with the link between alcohol and sexual violence. 

Alcohol is neither the main nor the only factor conducive to sexual assault, but it is often present during unwanted sexual relations or in cases of sexual violence. And while consuming small amounts of alcohol can promote intimacy and sex in several ways, no research has shown that drinking large amounts of alcohol can be beneficial. It is therefore clear that excessive drinking and sex do not mix at all. 

In addition, for both women and men there is an unfavourable link between excessive consumption and sexual functioning: premature ejaculation, reduced sexual desire and arousal, erectile dysfunction, dissatisfaction, and pain are just some of the unpleasant consequences.  

Abusing alcohol leads to risky behaviour

Excessive drinking is also a factor that can increase certain risky sexual behaviours that can be harmful to one’s health. One such practice is having unprotected sexual intercourse, which can lead to sexually transmitted infections, blood-borne infections, or unplanned pregnancies. It has been noted that condom use is not as reliable when people have been drinking; this can be linked to the disinhibiting effects of alcohol. 

Alcohol and sexual violence

Éduc’alcool’s scientific publication clearly outlines that excessive drinking is linked to sexual violence and is also a cause of the incidence and seriousness of domestic violence. Some studies show that men under the influence of alcohol tend to act more aggressively towards women than when they are sober. 

Excessive ​drinking​ causes ​a kind of ​“myopia” which reduces the ability of people who experience it to recognize danger sign​al​s and situations that carry a potential risk of sexual violence. And that’s not to mention that drinking too much also alters, or distorts, the perceptions of the person who expresses violent behavior. 

Studies have shown that there is a second, more direct, mechanism occurring during sexual intercourse where the state of intoxication of a person is such that it is impossible for them to oppose or resist what is happening. Sometimes making the victim drink excessively is the tactic for obtaining non-consensual sex. But what is seen, especially in student populations, are cases of violence or sexual assault through lack of consent where a person who has, voluntarily or not, consumed too much alcohol to be able to consent to a sexual relationship. 

Even if it is neither a necessary nor a sufficient cause of violence in intimate relationships, excessive drinking contributes significantly to it, both for the person who expresses unacceptable behaviour and for the person who experiences it. 

Refraining from drinking excessively is an important preventive measure for everyone.  Although the ultimate responsibility for these behaviours, whether they have consumed alcohol or not, rests with the person who engages in such actions, it is important to underline the role of the whole community in preventing this behaviour, whether they are an active witness, peer, or member of a security team.

Sexual Assault at Stanford University

In 2016, a major news story concerned a young woman who had been sexually assaulted while she was unconscious during a party at Stanford University. During the trial, ​the assailant ​indicated that he found himself on the ground with the young woman, because the latter had fallen. In a statement read in court, she replied: “If a girl falls down, help her up. If she’s too drunk to walk and falls, don’t jump on her, rub against her, pull her underwear off, or insert your fingers into her vagina. If a girl falls, help her up.” 

Source : https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra