Nina Fuchs, founder and chairwoman of KO — Kein Opfer (Knockout — No Victim), says she is fighting not for herself but for all survivors of sexual violence and those who may become victims in the future. Fuchs was raped in 2013 while under the influence of date-rape drugs; prosecutors later dropped the case despite DNA evidence linking a suspect to the assault. She founded KO in 2020 and has campaigned on behalf of survivors ever since.
The German government has proposed stricter legislation that would treat rape committed with date-rape drugs the same as an attack with a weapon, carrying a minimum sentence of five years in prison. Fuchs, however, calls the change largely symbolic. She argues that tougher penalties matter little if convictions remain rare: in Germany, roughly one in 100 reported rapes leads to a conviction, and the conviction rate is even lower for cases involving date-rape drugs because those substances can be very hard to detect.
The drugs used to spike drinks or to incapacitate people are typically colorless and odorless. They can be slipped into a drink or injected through clothing and usually take effect within 10 to 20 minutes, leaving victims unable to resist and often unconscious. Detectability is limited: after about 12 hours, many of these substances can no longer be found in blood or urine, which narrows the window for collecting forensic evidence.
Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig has described spiking as a particularly severe and insidious form of sexual violence that primarily affects women, and she argues that criminal law must respond with consistent penalties and broader protective measures. Still, survivors and experts emphasize that harsher sentences alone will not solve the practical problems that prevent prosecutions.
Fuchs recalls being disbelieved when she reported the attack in Munich. Similar stories persist: victims who are questioned about their dating history for hours, or who encounter police stations that do not take urine samples promptly because officers overestimate how long drugs remain detectable. Those failures compound trauma and reduce the chance of successful prosecution.
Experts and advocates call for concrete procedural reforms. Police, prosecutors, medical staff and other first responders need training on sexual violence, the properties of date-rape drugs, and trauma-informed care. Standardized protocols should be in place so that when someone reports suspected drugging, evidence is collected immediately and the victim receives appropriate support. Without structured procedures, improved sentencing rules may have little practical effect.
Awareness efforts in schools also need rethinking. Fuchs says prevention messaging should not only focus on potential victims and tips like keeping an eye on a drink, because that advice is often inadequate: a drink may already be spiked, or an assailant may use a tiny injection through clothing. Such guidance can inadvertently encourage victim blaming. Education should also address potential perpetrators and teach affirmative respect for consent.
Fuchs favors adopting an affirmative consent standard, often called ‘yes means yes’, under which a sexual act is punishable if explicit consent is not given. Germany currently relies largely on a ‘no means no’ model, which can require proof that a victim clearly resisted or objected.
Research underlines the gap between suspected incidents and criminal consequences. Charlotte Förster, a junior professor at the Technical University of Chemnitz, leads the Don’t Knock Me Out study, an anonymous online survey of people aged 14 and older in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. About 3,000 people have participated so far. In an initial German dataset of 1,802 respondents, 725 reported suspecting that they had been administered a substance without consent; respondents said criminal prosecution followed in only 23 of those cases.
Förster and others warn that if most suspected cases go unprosecuted, tougher penalties will not deter perpetrators. Additional figures from related research and official studies show that roughly one in 20 Germans suspect they have been drugged and assaulted at some point, yet only about one in 10 such incidents is reported to authorities, and forensic samples are taken in only about 8 percent of cases.
Förster says the key shortcoming is procedural: first responders and medical staff must follow standardized steps so evidence is not lost through delay or lack of training. She plans to publish final results from the drug-rape study in the coming months and is still seeking government funding for the project.
Advocates say a comprehensive approach is needed: better training and protocols for police and healthcare providers, improved education that addresses consent and potential perpetrators, and a legal framework that recognizes the particular danger of spiking. Without those practical measures, changes to sentencing risk remaining symbolic rather than creating real protection for victims.
This article was originally written in German.