Image: Photo by Alexander Popov on Unsplash1

Recent news continues to highlight the issue of spiking on nights out. Find out more about spiking from ‘Talk to Frank’.
Change, Grow, Live explain, ‘Being spiked isn’t something to feel guilty or ashamed about. The experience can be scary and affect your physical and mental health, but it is never your fault. Spiking often happens in bars and clubs, but it can happen in other places too, like parties and other social events.
Everyone should feel safe to enjoy themselves without worrying about being spiked.
We want to share some information with you that may help to keep yourself and others safe. We also want to make sure that you feel confident about what to do if you think someone has been spiked.

Steps you can take

Spiking can happen in any situation, at home or on a night out. However, there are a few things that can reduce the chances of experiencing spiking. We understand that students also have some concern about the possibility that people are being ‘spiked’ by needles/syringes containing drugs. Although this is much less likely than drink spiking, many of the same tips for staying safe can protect you here too:

• plan your night out, including your journey there and back.
• make sure the venue you are going to is licensed – venues are required to take steps to ensure the safety of their customers
• when going to a pub, club or party avoid going alone. Friends can look out for one another
• make sure your mobile phone has plenty of charge in it before you leave home and keep your mobile safe
• never leave your drink unattended
• always buy your own drink and watch it being poured.
• don’t accept a drink from someone you don’t know
• don't drink or taste anyone else's drink
• throw your drink away if you think it tastes odd
• avoid drinking too much by sticking to the UK low-risk drinking guidelines, and don’t mix alcohol with other substances

Getting help

Signs of spiking could include lowered inhibitions, loss of balance, feeling sleepy, visual problems, confusion, nausea/vomiting or unconsciousness. If you or a friend start to feel strange or drunker than you should be, then get help straight away.
If you need emergency help, you can call 999 if you’re off-campus or call Security on 01273 873333 if you’re on campus. If you need an ambulance, it is quickest for Security to call 999 and guide them to you.
If you’re in Brighton, you can go to ‘Safe Space’. On Friday and Saturday nights, ‘Safe Space’ supports anyone who has become intoxicated, distressed or injured during their night out. ‘Safe Space’ is open 11.30 pm to 4 am on Fridays and Saturdays. More information on the support they offer and where to find them is available on the Change, Grow, Live website.
Below are some more tips on what to do if you think you or a friend may have been spiked.

What if you think you have been spiked (by drink or needle)?

• if you start to feel strange, sick or drunk when you know that you couldn’t be drunk, seek help from a trusted friend or the venue management.
• if you think you have been spiked, get a close friend to get you out of the place as soon as possible and take you home or to the hospital (if seriously unwell). Or ring a friend, relative or partner and ask them to come and pick you up.
• if you feel unsafe, vulnerable or threatened you can ask for help by approaching venue staff and asking them for ‘Angela’. This code phrase indicates to staff that you need help and a trained member of staff will then support and assist you.
• make sure you can trust the person you ask for help. Don’t go anywhere with a stranger or acquaintance.
• once you are safely home ask someone to stay with you until the effects of the drug have worn off, which could be several hours.
• don’t hesitate to call for medical help if you need it.
• if you have been sexually assaulted, you can contact a sexual assault referral centre for support – find your nearest on the NHS website.
• if you think you have been assaulted you can also find guidance on Report and Support.

Looking out for each other

If you think a friend has been spiked:

• tell a bar manager, bouncer or member of staff
• stay with them and keep talking to them
• call an ambulance if their condition deteriorates
• don’t let them go home on their own
• don’t let them leave with someone you don’t know or trust
• don’t let them drink more alcohol - this could lead to more serious problems

Reporting

Spiking should always be taken very seriously. We remind all students that it is unacceptable to introduce any substance into someone else’s body without their consent, including adding alcohol to drinks.
Spiking is a serious crime and carries up to a 10-year prison sentence in the UK, and spiking with the intention of making someone more vulnerable to assault or rape is an even more serious offence.
There are several options in terms of reporting the incident:

• tell the venue staff what has happened
• you can report the incident to the police using their non-emergency number, 101. The police can provide urine/blood testing services if necessary.
• you can make the University aware of what has happened by using the Report and Support tool, which allows you to make a report and access support from University services.
• if you would prefer to access support from outside the University, you can contact Victim Support whether you reported the crime to the police or not, and no matter how long ago it happened.
• you might prefer not to report it at all.