Last updated on May 27, 2016
I wrote and I published.
I recently published a post about an incident in Dallas while I was traveling for work. I was drugged at a trusted restaurant by a bartender / night manager, who followed me into the bathroom and subsequently tried to pull me in the men’s room. This happened in the middle of April, and it has traumatized me far more than I like to admit. I have kept up a good front and tried to smile through it all.
I originally wrote the referenced post a few days after the drugging occurred, but I was unable to actually hit the publish button until 4+ weeks later. I still suffer from nausea, dizziness, insomnia, digestive issues, and headaches. What I don’t know is if these are the ill-effects of the drug or is it how I have reacted mentally to what happened. I will survive, trust me and I will scream what happened to me from the rooftops. I will post, comment, tweet, snap, pin, insta, and link it to as many different sites, to as many different people, as possible.
Why the Follow-Up?
I write this follow-up because I have been overwhelmed by the hundreds of people who have messaged me in public and private about their own terror and their own brush with this type of drugging. Innocent women AND men who felt the shame I felt, who still carry those scars with them, who were violated in one way or another, who were raped or robbed, abused and broken.
In conversations, written and spoken with friends and others in my own town of Laguna Beach, I have heard from or about dozens of individuals who experienced this here, in their own town – they weren’t traveling and they were at popular, local restaurants or bars. Most had been raped.
I know I was lucky
I know this – I know that my situation could have been far worse. There have been times when I wish it had been, so medical professionals and law enforcement officers, and even some friends and family, had taken me more seriously. That is sad – that is horrifying. I KNOW it could have been worse, but saying to me, “At least you weren’t raped” doesn’t ease my suffering or take away my nightmares. It makes me shake with anger for the many who were, scream for the men who were robbed or beaten, and cry for the young girl whose boyfriend betrayed her, beat her, and dumped her outside of her apartment. And continue to weep for those who hide their shame, who still haven’t told anyone of their terror – because they fear, because they want to forget.
But they won’t ever. I won’t ever.
I know why.
I have also heard why they keep it a secret. Why they cloak their faces. Why they avert their eyes.
Why they feel shame.
“Well, you shouldn’t have been drinking.”
“See what happens when you drink?”
“You shouldn’t travel alone.”
“You need to be more careful.”
“Stop talking to people you don’t know.”
“Maybe you need to slow down.”
“This only happens at frat parties or on college campuses.”
“Such a new and horrible thing that is happening.”
“What were you wearing?”
“Did you show cleavage?”
“Did you flirt with him?”
“Why did you give him your name?”
“You shouldn’t have been drinking…”
- I wasn’t drunk – I didn’t drink too much.
- This happened to individuals drinking water, Diet Coke, Red Bull, Lemonade, and so on.
- I have to travel alone AND I like traveling alone.
- Yes, I will be more careful and will never again take a drink from someone I don’t know or don’t see them pour. Nor will I leave my drink alone or turn my back on it. This one I accept.
- I will always talk to people I don’t know – it’s who I am, it’s what I do.
- I’ll slow down when I’m dead.
- No, it doesn’t only happen to young women in college. I’m 52.
- NOT new. One friend told me about how it happened to her 40+ years ago. Oh, and Bill Cosby. Not new.
- I was wearing a tank top with a sweater and baggy pants from Talbots (better known as the old lady store – because guess what? I’m an old lady)
- Yes, cleavage was showing. Guess what? I have cleavage.
- I wasn’t flirting, but if I had been – would that have made it ok? I was smiling. I was happy. Was.
- He had my name because I paid the bill with my credit card
(Which, interestingly enough was refunded a few days after the incident.) - And this happened because it just did and it does to too many people all the time, every day. And it happened because it is a crime that bad people get away with. No one presses charges because it is nearly impossible to get a conviction or even charges. And because someone close to them says or asks the things above. Because we, the victims, are shamed.
No, your Diet Coke won’t protect you.
Blame it on alcohol or the fact that I had a couple drinks?
Blame it on me for traveling alone?
Blame it on what I was wearing?
Blame it on me for being gregarious?
Blame it on everyone or every thing but the man who did this to me and the restaurant who covered it up?
This is real – this is a real danger we all face in our world. This could have been your daughter, mother, sister. It could have been YOU.
No one “deserves” this.
I didn’t get what was coming to me and I refuse to be a woman who plays the victim, who locks her door every second of every day, one who carries a stick with her everywhere.
Because I fear. Because it could happen again. Because there are bad people.
There are also good people. There are more good people.
And there are MORE people than you know who have been drugged by someone who wanted to take advantage of them in one way or another.
We need to make it NOT alright for someone to get away with this.
MANY people have messaged me privately and publicly to say this has happened to them, too. Thank you to those who were brave enough to do so, and I’m so sorry. To those who couldn’t or didn’t message me, I get it, I understand. You are not alone. And I am so sorry you went through this and felt you had no recourse, no one to share it with, no one to report this crime to.
It’s not just women who are raped.
It’s not just women.
It’s not just someone drinking alcohol.
It’s not just someone dressed sexily or one who flirts.
It’s not someone was out or traveled alone.
Not my first rodeo
This happened to me before at an industry event in Las Vegas, at a Human Resources and Recruiting Conference. Someone I knew drugged me. I kept quiet because I was embarrassed. Because I didn’t know what I could do. Because I felt shame. Because I wasn’t sure who did it and I was worried about them and not me.
I will not ever be quiet about this. I won’t be quiet again.
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Fantastic post and tremendous strength. I believe your story and I support you. I noticed you don’t mention specifically who did this and where, nor the previous perpetrator. Why not? This isn’t me telling you how to proceed with your own recovery, just wondering.
Hello Luis–
Because the police were reticent to file a report due to lack of evidence, besides my personal testimony – I have to be careful how I publish information about this incident. I run the risk of being sued by the restaurant. Even Yelp has refused to allow information shared on the restaurant’s page – they have deleted posts, stating that it is a legal matter, not a review.
I would love to scream, from the rooftop, the name of the restaurant, the owner, and the night manager who did this. And anyone who asks privately, I tell. I just can’t share in a public forum – which is part of “the shame” about
incidentscrimes like this. The victim remains the victim.Thanks for your comment.
-Rayanne
A girlfriend and I were out for a night on the town in a popular HardRock club. We were both drugged. Fortunately, all drugs that I ingest take about 15 or 20 minutes longer than normal to affect me. My friend, however, nearly collapsed on the dance floor. I helped her to a seating area and a bouncer came up to tell me that we were being kicked out. I asked for his assistance in getting my friend to the car. He obliged and we both shouldered her to the car. The drug kicked in for me the moment I turned the ignition key. A young cycle chauffeur came to our aid when he saw me stumble out of my car and fall to the ground because I was terrified I would get a DUI. Barely able to communicate, I instructed the chauffeur to call my friend’s boyfriend. We made it home safe that night, we were lucky.
Hi Nicky —
SOOO very glad you made it home safe that night — some very scary stories coming in.
Stay vigilant, always!
-Rayanne