I posted something earlier about me relapsing after a year sober, a friend coming over to “help me”, I asked, “I thought you were here to help me??!!” His response was “I am helping you…” and so on. If you want to know more, it was posted an hour ago…. Anyway, further information found out. He did this to me….I JUST FOUND OUT… He did this to two other people. They both relapsed, within a month from each other. Friend B went to help them while they were using and blacked out. He ended up having sex with them. They were too ashamed to tell anyone. WHAT THE ****???????? How is someone in AA, with 5 years sober, taking advantage of new comers like this and getting away with it? It’s ******* disgusting. I am 27, the one guy is 21, the other guy is 29. Friend B is almost 50. He is disgusting. What the HELL kind of sobriety is this? What should we do? Is there anything we can do? He is going to keep doing this to people and especially newcomers if he isnt stopped.

by raysny

It is a common enough practice in AA that they have their own term for what the sexual predators in AA do:”. “13th stepping”.

“Authors: Cathy J. Bogart a; Carol E. Pearce a Affiliation:   a Department of Psychology, Avila University, Kansas City, MO. DOI: 10.1080/10884600305373 Publication Frequency: 4 issues per year Published in: journal Journal of Addictions Nursing, Volume 14, Issue 1 Spring 2003 , pages 43 – 47  Abstract “Thirteenth-stepping” is a euphemistic term used among members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) to refer to people (particularly men) who target new, more vulnerable members (typically women) for dates or sex. Previous research suggests that women frequently experience sexual harassment in AA meetings and even in chemical dependency treatment settings. The objective of this survey study is to describe the frequency of various 13th-stepping experiences in a sample of women involved in AA.

Fifty-five women, aged 17-72 years, completed an anonymous survey to describe their experiences with 13th-stepping by men in AA. Results showed that at least 50% of the participants had at least occasionally experienced seven of the thirteen 13th-stepping behaviors listed in the survey. Also, compared to women who had never attended a female-only AA group, women who had attended such groups reported more 13th-stepping experiences from their attendance at coed groups. Two of the study participants volunteered that men they met in AA had raped them.

It is important that chemical dependency treatment providers be aware of 13th-stepping in AA, particularly when treating women. Especially vulnerable women, such as those with histories of sexual abuse, should be referred to female-only groups when possible. When women’s groups are unavailable, women should be adequately prepared to protect themselves from 13th-stepping.”
Check out http://stop13stepinaa.wordpress.com/