Dramatic Rise in Spiking in Nightclubs Throughout UK
There has been a huge rise in the number of women who have reported being spiked in nightclubs across the UK.
According to a report by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, released on Friday, October 23, there have been nearly 200 spiking cases throughout the country. 24 cases of injection were also reported.
The 198 instances were recorded to around 40 police forces in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, involved both men and women. However, the overwhelming majority of spiking victims were young women, with instances taking place at both licensed properties and house parties.
The concerns have largely been raised on social media platforms such as TikTok, with many women showing bruises on their bodies in places such as the upper arms and legs where they believe they have been injected with unknown substances.
“We are working at pace with forces, law enforcement agencies such as the NCA [National Crime Agency] and other partners including the Home Office and universities to understand the scale of offending, establish any links between the allegations and ultimately bring any identified offenders to justice,” said Jason Hawin, chief constable and NPCC for lead for drugs.
A spokesperson from the Home Office has said, “"This is absolutely awful. We have asked for an update from the police on this and would encourage anyone to report this behaviour to the police."
In response to the spiking, a nationwide boycott of nightclubs is expected to take place over several dates in the coming weeks, such as Coventry, where the boycott is expected to take place on two dates: October 27 and 28.
The boycott started in Edinburgh by Martha Williams, 21. She said, ““People don’t really know the procedure of what happens when you’re spiked and what to do after. It should be part of sex education in high school.”
In conjunction with the boycotting, a campaign, ‘Girls Night In’ was started by Milly Seaford, a university student in Edinburgh. The Bristol branch of the campaign told Epigram, “They started the page as they had growing anxiety on nights out with fear of being spiked especially by injectables. Although Bristol doesn't seem to have as bad of a spiking problem the recent video of the alleged spiking in Bristol Pryzm shows that we're not exempt!”
However, the campaign hasn’t been without criticism. Mair Howells, creator of @ivebeenspiked on Instagram, said, ““It is pretty backwards… I don’t believe it is the right solution. I don’t believe as women we should be made to stay indoors.
“The Girls Night In campaigners are a bit defeatist. I’ve had so many messages from trolls saying: ‘If you don’t want to get spiked, just stay in’. If we do that and stay in, we are giving them exactly what they want.”