Recently, many women in the UK have reported being spiked in crowded bars and nightclubs. The victims are said to have been injected with substances known as “rape drugs” in their drinks, but also by using syringe needles.
Several women are now sharing their stories on social media. All the accounts have a similar theme: In one moment, the victim felt absolutely fine, the next, they could neither speak nor stand upright.
However, there is a divide in opinion between medical professionals and victims of the recent injection spikings. Social media has been flooded with reports of partygoers being stabbed with needles, often with a picture like the tweet above. The feasibility of this method is questioned among experts.
Dr Cathy Montgomery, a Reader in Psychopharmacology at Liverpool John Moores University, believes spiking via injection would be improbable. She explains: “The likelihood of injecting someone without them noticing is small as you would require a large needle and an injection delivered over around twenty seconds.”
Although professionals may hypothesize about the rise in new spiking cases, Dr Montgomery believes enough data has not yet been recorded to be able to take a clear stance, she said: “Many incidents of spiking are reported via victims who report that they were drugged as part of sexual assault, so there is no separate dataset that tells us the number of spikings or attempted spikings.”
When spiking drinks, Dr Montgomery explained that the common substances used are alcohol, ketamine and GHB/GBL. These “date rape drugs” are all used to make their victim an easier target. However, experts are less sure of the substances used in spiking via injection.
Dr Montgomery said: “As far as I am aware, toxicology tests have not confirmed the presence of substances in individuals reporting injection spiking recently, so it is difficult to know which substances would be used for this purpose.”
Due to this new form of spiking being such a recent concern, it seems there is not enough scientific data to catch up with the overwhelming number of cases reaching social media. Professionals in the field of pharmaceuticals and members of the emergency services have used their experiences and knowledge of the topic to form their opinion. However, with their opinions being such a stark contrast from the images and stories recently shared on the news and online by victims, it suggests that there is still a great deal unknown regarding spiking via injection.
Until research has provided a clearer understanding of these dangerous attacks, Dr Montgomery explained what she felt should be done to reduce the number of victims: “It is important that we have clearly signposted information for people who are the victims of spiking (e.g. NHS website, information from Police) so that they are aware of the procedures in place to get support and report the incident. Likewise, there needs to be a clear protocol for those responding to reports of such crimes.”
Merseyside Police have launched an operation every Friday and Saturday in the city centre that targets potential predators and aims to safeguard vulnerable females walking home. The procedure is entitled Operation Empower.
A Merseyside police officer, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: “There’s a set of minimum standards that have been outlined by any incident whereby a spiking may have happened. The control room have certain duties, as do initial responders, investigations and the hospital.”
Merseyside Police are not taking this issue lightly and are aiming to make sure all women feel safe in the city of Liverpool. Over the corona-virus lockdown periods, sexual and domestic abuse was extremely high due to people being unable to leave their homes, during that time Merseyside Police put in extra measures to ensure the safety of women and they are continuing to do so with nights out.
The minimum standard from the police is called a “spiking incidents trigger plan”, which means that as soon as spiking is mentioned the plan is triggered and a patrol must always follow to the hospital.
However, a Merseyside police officer has also said police are now facing difficulties as everyone thinks their friends have been spiked when in reality, they are just drunk. The officer told us: “We are now getting loads of calls all saying, “my mates been spiked” whereby they just appear intoxicated, but in every case we need to seek medical attention and can’t just assume”. He also assured us that the police are not overwhelmed in these incidents as on a Friday and Saturday they are very well staffed and have the resources to deal with it.
There are four police officers dedicated to Operation Empower between 9pm and 7am every Friday and Saturday. However, the police officer did say that he thinks there should be more work done teaching students about safety, this would come from their local policing or community engagement teams.
He believed educating students over sexual assault and drugs would be beneficial as they would be able to spot the signs of a tampered drink and know how to deal with an incident of sexual assault in a way which would lead to the most beneficial investigation. For example, you must try to not wash or change your clothes as this could tamper with forensic evidence that could be used as evidence.
A statement was released by Merseyside Police on the 22nd of October in response to the increased reports of drink and injection spiking.
Superintendent Diane Pownall said: “Liverpool is awarded Purple Flag status every year and is one of the safest cities in the UK.” She also reassured people that there has not been a high number of reports as between the 1st of September and the 22nd of October there had been seventeen accounts of drink spiking and only five reports of injection spiking. These were being “extensively investigated with officers examining CCTV, speaking to victims and potential witnesses and looking into medical evidence.”
The NHS has created a list explaining what to do if you have been spiked with a needle:
- Tell someone that you think you have been spiked immediately in case you lose consciousness or mobility and require help
- Encourage the wound to bleed, ideally by holding it under running water
- Wash the wound using running water and plenty of soap (do not scrub our suck the wound while you are washing it)
- Dry the wound and cover it with a waterproof plaster or dressing
- Seek urgent medical advice on 111 or from your nearest A&E department
Within 24 hours, go to a medical facility. You may need emergency medication such as:
- Antibiotics to treat infection
- Post exposure treatment to prevent Hepatitis B or HIV
Symptoms of spiking:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Confusion and memory loss
- Loss of consciousness
- Slurred or difficult speech
- Breathing difficulties
- Trouble seeing and changes to vision
- Hallucinations and out of body experiences
- Loss of balance
On a night out:
- Make sure you stay with a group of people you trust
- If you notice anything off, go to club security or club medic immediately
- Look out for other people
- Always watch your drink and don´t accept drinks directly from strangers
Do you have any stories for us? Let us know by contacting us on either Instagram or Twitter!
15/11/21
Coni Harpham
Ingrid Aase-Nilsen
Chloe Doolan
Ropewalks Wrap 