The profile of GHB as a date rape drug was raised on Tuesday by the revelation that Reynhard Sinaga – described by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as “the most prolific rapist in British legal history” – had used the substance on his victims; the BBC has even described the drug as the “rapist’s weapon of choice”.

Indeed, GHB has properties useful to those intending to commit sexual assault: with careful dosing, it can leave the victim unable to escape, or even recall the violation that has taken place.

However, there is a far more common drug used in rape: alcohol. Like GHB, alcohol lends itself to this type of crime, lowering inhibitions and, in the right doses, eliminating memories. Women are more susceptible to memory loss due to alcohol than men, a gender difference convenient for a crime mostly perpetrated against women by men.

Of course, alcohol not only reduces victims’ ability to refuse unwanted sexual advances, it also reduces perpetrators’ inhibitions in carrying out sexual assaults.

So while the renewed interest in GHB prompted by Sinaga’s case is welcome, it has also diverted attention from a drug so familiar that we have forgotten how it continues to be abused by rapists: alcohol is estimated to be a factor in nearly half of American students’ reports of sexual assaults.

Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Show all 11 1 /11 Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Reynhard Sinaga was jailed at Manchester Crown Court for life and must serve a minimum of 30 years after he was convicted of offences against 48 men Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed The bedroom floor, where dozens of rapes took place, in the the home of Reynhard Sinaga Sinaga, who was convicted on 159 sexual offences including 136 counts of rape in Manchester between January 2015 and May 2017, drugged 48 men and filmed himself sexually violating them while they were unconscious in his city centre apartmen Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed A general view of the night club Fifth in Manchester where Reynhard Sinaga watched and picked up men that he later raped Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed CCTV grab of Reynhard Sinaga on Princess Street The Indonesian student posed as a good samaritan, offering the men a place to sleep or more drink, the court heard Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Reynhard Sinaga, middle, appearing in the dock at Manchester Crown Court on the day he was charged Julia Quenzler /SWNS.COM Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed A general view of the apartment Montana House next to the night club The Factory Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed The living room at the home of Reynhard Sinaga His victims – who were mostly heterosexual – had little or no memory of the assaults, which Sinaga filmed on his mobile phone. The men left the flat unaware they had been violated. Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed The iPhone 4 taken by a victim and used to convict Reynhard Sinaga Sinaga was caught after one of the men regained consciousness and fought him off, before taking his phone to the police Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Bottles of alcohol which were used to spike victims in the home of Reynhard Sinaga Sinaga is thought to have laced alcoholic drinks with a drug such as GHB, known as liquid ecstasy, to incapacitate his victims Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Greater Manchester Police has urged anyone who believes Sinaga may have approached them on a night out to come forward. Officers say he may have been committing crimes for 10 years Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Mobile phones found in the home of Reynhard Sinaga When Greater Manchester Police examined the attacker’s multiple digital devices, they found 3.29 terabytes of graphic material – the equivalent of 250 DVDs – depicting sexual assaults. Jurors who had to watch some of the mobile phone footage were later offered counselling Greater Manchester Police/PA

Yet when we think of alcohol-facilitated rape, we almost always think of extreme cases, not the more everyday cases in which consent is compromised by the chemical, when the perpetrator merely “takes advantage” of the individual under the influence of the drug. But engaging in sex with someone unable to give full consent constitutes rape, and the legality of the drug doesn’t justify the offence.

This renewed attention to the role GHB played in Sinaga’s attacks will no doubt see many people become hyper-vigilant about whether their drinks have been spiked. While the advice about not leaving drinks unattended or sticking to bottled drinks is prudent, it can give a false sense of security about alcohol, a drug that, even without being spiked, can make people vulnerable to sexual assault.

Adding to the panic about GHB, home secretary Priti Patel wasted no time in announcing a review of the controls in place for the drug. While this might help give the impression that the government is doing something about the issue, it is little more than a political veneer. For apart from the fact that tightening controls on the GHB would unlikely deter those who use it to date rape, doing so would again divert attention away from the more common chemical culprit in rape cases.

Now would be an opportunistic moment for the home secretary to draw attention to the role alcohol plays in sexual assault – but given the long-standing and cozy relationship between the alcohol industry and government (both red and blue), that’s unlikely. Until that relationship breaks down, sexual assaults facilitated by alcohol will continue.