It’s an all too familiar sight; girls stumbling drunkenly before falling uncontrollably to the floor, dignity out of the window and the hangover from hell awaiting them the next morning. But what if this wasn’t just a messy night in TP, but the result of drink spiking, an increasing phenomenon where drugs or alcohol are added to a drink without the consent of the person consuming it? Scarily, over the past twelve months, more than 1,000 women in the United Kingdom have reported being raped as a result of drink spiking. However, due to the problematic nature of proving an event that the victim cannot even remember, it is very difficult to catch or prosecute the perpetrator.
Paranoia, disorientation, hallucinations, nausea, confusion, lowered inhibitions and poor vision-these symptoms are common to the four most prevalent drugs used for drink spiking in the UK. The Roofie Foundation Statistics showed that the victims of drug rape and sexual abuse through drink spiking are largely female with approximately 11 women falling victim for every one male victim during the past five years. But even more worrying is the fact that these statistics are incomplete since they are formed by the few victims brave enough to report attacks.
It seems it is difficult to be taken seriously if you believe you had something illegal slipped into your drink. We’ve all heard those girls proclaim they ‘must have had their drink spiked!’, when in fact they simply indulged a little too much in wine that evening. But for every exaggerated declaration there are thousands of victims whose pleas are not being taken seriously. MP Kenneth Clarke’s suggestion that date rape is not as serious as other kinds of rape exacerbates the frame of mind that those affected by drink spiking and sexual assault should leave the crimes unreported. Similarly, Dr Adam Burgess from Kent University’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, said: “Young women appear to be displacing their anxieties about the consequences of consuming what is in the bottle on to rumours of what could be put there by someone else. The reason why fear of drink-spiking has become widespread seems to be a mix of it being more convenient to guard against than the effects of alcohol itself and the fact that such stories are exotic – like a more adult version of ‘stranger danger’”. But what would Clarke and Burgess say to the statistic that drink spiking has increased by 3,000 per cent since 1960- can they really deny the validity of our fears?
The horrifying fact is that drink spiking amongst students does occur. Stories like Kate’s, a student who attended a house party, had one cider and one Smirnoff Ice before passing out in a fit, are all too common. She says, “It was horrifying; they had to take me to hospital in an ambulance.” So what can we do? Never leave your drink unattended. Although it can be very tempting to let that hot guy in Arena buy you a vodka and coke, you should never accept a drink from someone you don’t know. Similarly try to keep an eye on your friends’ drinks and let someone know where you are and what time you expect to be home. You can always knock back your drink directly from the bottle and keep your thumb over the mouth of the glass to avoid anything being slipped in. And there are also special guards on the market such as ‘Spikeys’, which can protect your drink. It is also important to remember that if you’ve already been drinking, it may make you less aware of any danger.
Films like The Hangover, where Alan ‘roofies’ his fellow bachelors Phil, Stu and Doug can have the unfortunate effect of making the criminal offence, which can result in ten years or more in prison, comedic. However, in the real world, where we don’t all wake up with tigers in our bathrooms, the result of having your drink spiked might be a little more traumatic than waking up sans tooth.
Image credits: gal2.piclab.us, cwav.org