‘You hold your drink and hope for the best’ – students react to reports of rise in ‘spiking’
STUDENTS in Cardiff say they “don’t feel safe” on nights out in the city after an alleged rise in drink-spiking.
And a Swansea nightclub business has pledged more safety measures to combat spiking.
A number of reports have emerged of young women being injected with drugs in nightclubs across the UK.
Some women have said they have begun wearing heavier clothes, such as denim jackets, to try to prevent it happening to them.
There is now a call for a boycott of nightclubs across the UK – including a “Girls Night In” planned for Cardiff on Friday – to force clubs to take further measures to stop the spiking as the organisers say complaints are not being dealt with properly.
The organisers of Girls Night In Cardiff are calling for “the entire student population of Cardiff to “have a girly night in” in support of protesting against spiking in clubs.
“As most students know, spiking has become an epidemic in Cardiff nightclubs,” the group wrote in an Instagram post. “After every night out there’s a new story of a spiking incident or an attempt at one.”
Cardiff student Olivia Hamilton said she believed that although people have always been aware of drink-spiking, the use of injections is a frightening new development.
She said: “I think people were always aware of it, but it’s definitely kind of hit social media a lot more, it’s become a lot bigger thing now that injections have come to the forefront.
“Even though you’ve always been aware of it and it’s always something that people talk about, but when it’s happening near you, it’s places you’ve been, and kind of clubs that you go to, it just puts you on edge.”
Olivia said she is glad places are offering precautions, but said it “should never have got this bad”.
“I think clubs should be doing more because obviously it’s all well and good to kind of do covers on drinks and providing things that you can test your drinks with, and I think that is really really good and really important, but we shouldn’t have to do that,” said Olivia.
“It just shouldn’t have come to that point. It’s great that people are doing more but I think it just should never have got this bad.”
Venues are publicising safety measures they offer, such as drinks covers and testing kits, but there are calls for more to be done to stop perpetrators rather than put the onus on potential victims to take measures to prevent themselves.
Tramshed in Cardiff has recently published a list of measures to ensure a safe night at its venue, including increased searches and CCTV checks throughout the night, and warning those who are going out to commit behaviour like this that they’re not welcome.
Another student, Megan Benson, said that reports of drink-spiking and women being followed home by strangers have become an almost daily occurrence.
“I’ll be fully honest, I don’t like walking back by myself,” she said. “I don’t really feel safe going to a night out, coming back from night out, and sometimes even on my night out.
“Spiking never really was a thing I feared before this year, but September onwards I’ve witnessed it first-hand.
“It’s really sad because there’s not a lot we can do. As girls, you hold your drink and hope for the best but there’s definitely been an increase, 100%.”
Olivia Harris said it had left her questioning whether to go out on Halloween, traditionally a big night out.
“I was speaking to a friend about this earlier because he asked if I wanted to go out on the Saturday of Halloween and I said I was unsure because it’s quite scary hearing about all of the stories especially with the injections,” said Olivia.
While it is mainly women who are victims, male students said they also found the rise concerning.
Will Evans said that although he felt safe, he has been out with many friends who have not.
“Personally, I do feel safe, although I have been in many experiences where I’ve been with people which don’t feel safe,” he said.
“As a guy, I really don’t see how it has come to this. I feel like guys should be far more responsible than they clearly have been and I know it’s a very small proportion of us, but it’s made girls feel this way and I hope it stops soon.”
Another student, Nathan Mielczarek, said that while preventative measures were good, it was more important to catch those committing the crime.
“I think that especially now since it’s becoming more of a problem and people are starting to inject people directly with things, that’s horrible,” said Nathan.
“I’ve seen what the Students’ Union is trying to do about it, like safer taxis, medical staff on site, I’m a fan of that but I would prefer that the people who want to spike be found first.
“These people are very clever, they’re premeditated, they know what they want to do and they are clever enough not to get caught. That’s why I think we need to get like some search in clubs and things like that, because it’s the only way people will be safe, in my opinion.”
Meanwhile, a nightclub business in
Swansea, Creative Hospitality Group (CHG), is backing the Girls Night In which is taking place in Swansea on Wednesday.
Head of operations Jonathan Saunders explained: “The safety of our customers is always at the heart of everything we do, particularly at our late-night venues, Peppermint Swansea and Bambu. As a hospitality company, the safety of all customers is crucial to the business and forms a large part of staff training. New recruits learn how to be vigilant when it comes to spotting drinks that may have been tampered with, how to support and care for people who suspect their drink has been spiked and how to deal with people who are suspected of spiking drinks.
“They are also trained in providing a safe way for people to get home who suspect their drinks have been spiked.
“The Girls Night In initiative has shone a light on a huge issue in our sector and we are determined to do everything we can to work with the campaign organisers to bolster our safety regulations and make all our guests feel comfortable and secure.
“Women’s safety is part of our ethos and with a largely female senior management team, the issue is always high on our agenda. While we are already implementing many of the safety measures that the Girls Night In campaign are calling for, we are introducing free drink protection devices for all customers should they request one.”
CHG has several measures in place already , including:
All staff, security and managers briefed prior to every shift with the most up-to-date information;
a “we will always believe you” policy – all reports of spiking, sexual assault and harassment believed at point of disclosure; and
taxi-calling and phone-charging facilities.
Measures being implemented imminently include:
meeting with the Swansea’s Girls Night In team;
anti-spiking devices available on request;
delivering the most relevant and up-to-date training for all staff, security and managers;
immediate and ongoing review of safe space and club welfare policies;
increased visibility on social media of relevant organisations which can provide support and advice; and
introduction of venue posters promoting behaviours, help and advice.