Having your drink spiked is when a substance such as drugs (illegal and prescription) or alcohol have been unknowingly added to your drink. This carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence, but spiking is often done in order to make the victim more vulnerable and subject to other crimes such as rape and robbery, which have added sentences. Many spikings occur using ‘Date Rape’ drugs that take effect quickly and are often hard to identify because they have no colour, smell, or taste. The symptoms of being spiked are very similar to those of excessive alcohol or drug use, making it harder to recognise if someone has been spiked or if they’ve just had ‘one too many’ to drink. Symptoms range from vomiting to unconsciousness and even death in severe cases. Unfortunately, most of the symptoms are similar to alcohol and drug use, meaning victims are often not taken seriously or helped at all. The effects of being spiked leave not only short-term physical injury, but also long-lasting psychological effects such as PTSD and anxiety. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 concluded in a recent survey that up to 25 people in England and Wales have their drink spiked each week, primarily young women. However, even this shocking statistic is likely underestimated as a lot of victims do not report being spiked.
Since university students have come back in September and clubs have re-opened after restrictions eased, there has been a significant rise in spiking in Manchester. According to the BBC, eight women in Manchester have reported being spiked over the recent weeks, and three were hospitalised after being spiked at a bar in Deansgate on the 4th of October. Also, in just 25 days, there were five reports of spiking at one bar in Fallowfield (where the majority of Manchester University students live). Women are already advised to use preventative measures and be cautious about getting drinks spiked, but now there are reports of spiking by injection. Police patrols have increased in the areas with the largest increase in cases, these being Fallowfield and the city centre. The Manchester Students’ Union has organised a club boycott called ‘Girls Night In’ on October 27th, in order to force clubs to increase their safety measures. Bars and clubs should not have to be forced into safety measures by students; they should be forced by the government. It is a travesty that the only law surrounding the issue is that it’s a criminal offence. Clubs need to be legally obliged to implement safety measures in order to keep women safe.
Some clubs such as 256 in Fallowfield offer safety caps and lids for drinks making it harder for substances to be dropped in. If there was a law in place for these to be free of charge and available in all clubs, women would feel a lot safer. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s the bartenders that spike the drinks; for this to be prevented, laws should be passed making a thorough screening mandatory when recruiting new bartenders.
Furthermore, there is a safety initiative called ‘Ask for Angela’, which makes it easy for women on a night out to indicate that they need help to escape a current situation promptly, by ‘Asking for Angela’, (e.g. to the bartender). It was rolled out by the Met Police to bars, clubs, and businesses in London but not nationwide. This initiative or something similar should be taught to all club and bar staff and students should be informed.; This would make getting help a lot quicker and easier.
To conclude, there are many things the legal system could implement in order to counter this issue, and these are only a few. With spiking cases rising and methods becoming more discreet and malicious, it is time for the government to step up and prevent the situation from worsening.