Spiking is never harmless. And the responsibility is never the victim’s.
The news has once again been full of police warnings around spiking, most recently about the use of vapes and prescription medicines. The Met Police has reported cases involving vapes which contain THC or Spice alongside high doses of everyday medicines like antihistamines and travel sickness tablets that cause drowsiness.
More than 2700 spiking related cases were reported to the Met in the last year with only 131 leading to a charge, caution or summons – a 20% increase on the previous year. Police have also recognised that spiking doesn’t just happen in pubs and clubs but also in homes, at parties and in student accommodation.
But spiking is not new, nor are they isolated incidents. And it can happen to anyone.
One of the most common ways people are spiked is through alcohol – adding alcohol to a non-alcoholic drink, or extra alcohol to an alcoholic one, without the person’s knowledge or consent. People spike for different reasons. Someone may claim they thought it was funny, while others do it to facilitate theft, rape or sexual assault. Whatever the motive, spiking is never harmless. It can leave someone extremely vulnerable and unwell and, depending on what happens, can have a lasting impact on their wellbeing and life.
Yougov research (2022) showed that one in 10 women and one in 20 men have had their drink spiked. And 40% of people said that they do not think the police would believe them if they reported drink spiking.
That fear of not being believed is all too familiar to specialist sexual violence services. Separate Rape Crisis research involving nearly 500 rape survivors found that, among those who had not reported to police, 95% said believing they would not be believed was a factor.
Many people who have been spiked may convince themselves they simply drank too much. They may have little or no memory of what happened, just a feeling that something was not right. It is all too easy to see an incident like this as a one-off. But for the perpetrator it may be anything but.
In Manchester, Reynhard Sinaga targeted men returning from nights out, taking them back to his flat and giving them spiked drinks before raping or sexually assaulting them while unconscious. He was convicted of 159 sexual offences against 48 men, although police believe he may have offended against 206. He was only caught when one victim regained consciousness and fought him off.
More recently in London, Chao Xu targeted women attending networking events at his flat. He was jailed for life for 24 sexual offences against six women, including rape, although police believe there may be many more victims.
These cases challenge the idea of spiking as a prank, an unfortunate incident on a night out or something victims should have prevented by watching their drink more carefully.
Sometimes we are looking at deliberate, planned behaviour by serial sexual offenders.
People need information about recognising spiking and what to do if they are concerned. It is positive that police are treating it increasingly seriously. But prevention cannot become another list of instructions telling women or men to cover their drinks, watch their vapes or stay with friends.
The responsibility always sits with the person who chooses to spike someone.
If someone tells you they have been spiked, listen to them, take them seriously, and help them access support. But remember that what appears to be one unexplained night could be part of a much wider pattern of offending.
References
[1]: https://www.gmp.police.uk/news/greater-manchester/news/news/2020/january/a-serial-rapist-who-filmed-himself-attacking-his-victims-after-drugging-them-at-his-home-in-manchester-has-been-jailed/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “A serial rapist who filmed himself attacking his victims after drugging them at his home in Manchester has been jailed | Greater Manchester Police”
[2]: https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-informed/types-of-sexual-violence/what-is-spiking/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Spiking, date rape drugs and being roofied: what are they? | Rape Crisis England & Wales”
[3]: https://rapecrisis.org.uk/news/just-one-in-seven-rape-survivors-believe-reporting-will-lead-to-justice/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Just 1 in 7 rape survivors in survey believe reporting will bring justice | Rape Crisis England & Wales”
[4]: https://news.met.police.uk/news/met-warns-predatory-offenders-are-increasingly-using-everyday-medicines-to-spike-unsuspecting-victims-513081?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Met warns predatory offenders are increasingly using everyday medicines to spike unsuspecting victims | Metropolitan Police”
Written by Jocelyn Anderson, CEO, WMRSASC.
Featured in the Worcester News.