Do you really know?

What is chemical submission?

Sep 27, 2024

Gisèle Pélicot, a survivor of a horrific drug-facilitated crime, shares her harrowing experience of being drugged over a decade. She discusses the chilling implications of chemical submission, a form of manipulation that leaves victims incapacitated. The conversation sheds light on the prevalence of such crimes and addresses common misconceptions around sedatives like GHB. Gisèle offers crucial safety tips for recognizing and preventing these incidents, making for an eye-opening and essential dialogue about awareness and resilience.

04:48

Episode guests

Gisèle Pélicot

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The recent French court case has brought significant attention to chemical submission, highlighting the use of various powerful sedatives in facilitating sexual assault.

Awareness and proactive prevention measures, such as drink covers and testing kits, are crucial in combating the risks of chemical submission in social settings.

Deep dives

Understanding Chemical Submission

Chemical submission refers to the use of drugs to incapacitate individuals, often leading to serious crimes like sexual assault. A recent French court case highlighted this issue when a man admitted to drugging his wife over a decade, facilitating her sexual assault by local men without her knowledge due to the powerful sedatives. Contrary to popular belief, GHB is not the sole substance used in these crimes; various medications, including anti-anxiety drugs and sedatives like benzodiazepines, are frequently involved. Reports indicate that more than half of chemical submission cases involve such prescription medications, emphasizing that these incidents can occur in both social and private settings.

Understanding Chemical Submission and Its Implications

4min

You may have seen headlines in recent weeks about a deeply shocking French court case. A man has admitted drugging his wife with powerful sedatives over a period of a decade and inviting as many as 80 local men to rape her during that time.

Due to the effects of the drugs she had been subjected to, the woman Gisèle Pélicot, had no idea of what was happening to her. The case has led to increased awareness of chemical submission, which is a type of drug-facilitated crime. It’s defined by the Spanish Journal of Legal Medicine as “the use of chemical substances to manipulate the will of a person, producing incapacity or unconsciousness that facilitates criminal action.”

Is that like spiking drinks with GHB? How should I respond if I witness or suspect chemical submission? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

What is xylazine, the so-called zombie drug?

What are the dangers of using nitrous oxide - the laughing gas drug?

What happens in the brain when we lie?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices