Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 84 posts

Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors

#11

Post by im3w1l »

jojobas wrote: post #8
greggyb wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One avenue, couched in specifics of US law, but I presume the ideas have analogs in Germany's legal system: A battery occurs when a harmful physical contact occurs. Contact with a weapon is pretty much by definition battery. The use of such a drug in the commission of rape or other violent crimes would then be a very easily proven case. If the substance is present in a victim's body, then battery has occured, basical…

> If the substance is present in a victim's body There is a possibility that the accused has nothing to do with it, you still have to prove it wasn't some third party or the victim who procured and took the drug.

> you still have to prove it wasn't some third party or the victim who procured and took the drug.

Does it actually work that way in the real world?

Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors

#12

Post by neetle »

sebst wrote: post #2

Could someone with a background in law explain the advantage of a reclassification over imposing the same penalties on this particular group of substances? Because outside of the legal definition, I would not call those “weapons” in everyday language. They are a thing on their own…

They fall into the same fuzzy area as chemical weapons imo. They have a non-standard form factor, sure, but they’re still primarily intended to harm people

Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors

#15

Post by aerostable_slug »

In California, rape of an unconscious person is not considered a violent felony for the purposes of 'strikes' as well as early release from prison. A rapist may serve as little as 50% of their sentence due to this fact.

It was only this year (2025) that rape of an unconscious person who was made unconscious by the assailant (a date rape drug provision like Germany's) became a violent felony. Germany is not alone in these types of reclassifications.

Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors

#16

Post by david38 »

Seems reasonable, but maybe not exactly a weapon. It is used to subdue someone, but not as a threat. Should be a parallel class.

And while the intended assault is a sexual assault, a date rape drug still incapacitates you, which easily classifies as kidnapping, unlawful detainment, etc.

Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors

#17

Post by jonahrd »

im3w1l wrote: post #11
jojobas wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If the substance is present in a victim's body There is a possibility that the accused has nothing to do with it, you still have to prove it wasn't some third party or the victim who procured and took the drug.

> you still have to prove it wasn't some third party or the victim who procured and took the drug. Does it actually work that way in the real world?

Yes, people can and do recreationally take GHB quite often. (also commonly used in date rape cases)

The same can be said for MDMA, and others

Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors

#19

Post by eqvinox »

david38 wrote: post #16

Seems reasonable, but maybe not exactly a weapon. It is used to subdue someone, but not as a threat. Should be a parallel class. And while the intended assault is a sexual assault, a date rape drug still incapacitates you, which easily classifies as kidnapping, unlawful detainment, etc.

A stick of dynamite probably counts as a weapon too (I would think?), in a legal sense. I'd say it's a reasonable perspective for the legalese.

Also, cars have been considered weapons in some cases.

Post reply on HN