What is drink spiking?
A person’s drink can be spiked to make them more vulnerable for a variety of motives, including theft or sexual assault.
Different types of spiking can include the following substances being added to drinks:
- Alcohol
- Date rape drugs
- Illegal drugs
- Prescription drugs e.g. stimulants, tranquilisers, sedatives, opiates
Drink spiking can happen to any type of drink, whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic.
The effects can be unpredictable but are likely to be more serious if someone who’s had their drink spiked has also consumed more alcohol, or other drugs. This is because of the combination of effects from the different drugs working at the same time.
Shots of alcohol can be added to drinks to make them stronger, causing someone to get drunk much quicker than expected. Or sometimes a drink can be spiked with drugs that are specifically designed to incapacitate someone.
Because there are no official statistics it’s difficult to know the true extent of the crime. Often people don’t report drink spiking, because they don’t remember details of the night, or they feel embarrassed.
It can be a scary experience and it’s important to be able to recognise the signs that your drink has been spiked or how to help someone you suspect has been a victim.
What are date rape drugs?
Rohypnol (or Roofie) and Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) are the most commonly known ‘date-rape’ drugs. Both drugs can be used to commit physical and sexual assaults as they can sedate or incapacitate a victim, making them more vulnerable to attack.
If your drink has been spiked with a date rape drug it's unlikely that you will see, smell or taste any difference, no matter what type of drink you are having as date-rape drugs can be odourless, colourless and tasteless. They also leave the body within a short amount of time making them hard to detect. Most date rape drugs take effect within 15-30 minutes and symptoms usually last for several hours.
Recreational drugs like Ecstasy, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), Ketamine and other ‘party-drugs’ are sometimes used to spike alcoholic drinks. Mixing alcohol and stimulants can be very dangerous and can cause serious medical problems, ranging from nausea to coma.
Symptoms of drink spiking
The effects of drink spiking vary depending on what you’ve been spiked with. Your symptoms could include:
- Lowered inhibitions
- Loss of balance
- Feeling sleepy
- Visual problems
- Confusion
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Unconsciousness
The symptoms will depend on lots of factors such as the substance or mix of substances used (including the dose), your size and weight, and how much alcohol you have already consumed.
It happened to me
Think
We recognise that if your drink has been spiked you might not be capable of following the steps below:
- If you are able to, get help straight away: tell someone you trust and get to a safe space.
- Go to the bar staff and alert them. You can do this by asking for ‘Angela’. They will know you need help and will call you a taxi or help you out discreetly without drawing attention to it.
- Do not leave the venue alone or with someone you don’t know or trust.
- Avoid consuming more alcohol.
- Call 999 (Emergency Services) or 0207 040 3333 (Campus Security, if on campus).
- Use the more specific language of ‘drugged’ or ‘poisoned’ rather than ‘spiked’ if the healthcare practitioner does not understand the term.
Find out more about drink spiking on the Drinkaware website.
Talk
- Talk to someone you trust. Talking things through with someone can sometimes help. This could be a friend, family member or someone at City St George's.
- Student Welfare and Engagement Officers are first points of contact for any wellbeing or student experience related issues. Students can discuss any challenges or life-circumstances which may be affecting their wellbeing and ability to engage with their studies.
Report
- Students can report concerns using City St George's Report + Support platform. You can choose to do this without providing your personal details or you can request support from an adviser by filling in the form with your contact details.
- Reporting to the police. Where a crime has been committed, you can report what has happened to you to the police. You can call the police on 101, visit your local police station or report it confidentially online.
- University Procedure. If you choose to make a formal complaint to the University about a member of staff or student there are procedures which set out the steps you will need to follow.
Support
Students can connect with staff across the University:
- Student Health and Wellbeing provide students with practical, emotional and specialist disability related support. Students can complete the e-referral form to access these services.
- Student Support Services are a multi-disciplinary team that provides support, expert advice and guidance to students. You can contact them through our Support@City platform
- The Chaplaincy Team offer pastoral support to everyone, welcoming every faith, belief and culture and students with no faith, and can be contacted directly.
- The SU Advice Service offer support for students who have experienced any form of harassment, bullying or sexual violence, either on campus, online or off campus. You can access support here.
It happened to someone I know
Talk
Talk
- Listen. Just taking the time to listen to someone and talk about what has happened to them can help. If someone you know has been affected, you can encourage them to seek support. It’s important to listen to what they want to do and respect the decision they make. If they do not wish to seek support or report what has happened to them, you can ask them if you can make a report on their behalf without providing their personal details.
- Thank the person for the disclosure and acknowledge that you believe them.
- Give options. When they have finished talking ask them if they are okay to talk through some possible options and next steps. Remember, it is important that they decide what they want to do.
Report
- Students can report concerns using City St George's Report + Support platform. They can choose to do this without providing their personal details or they can request support from an adviser by filling in the form with their contact details.
- Reporting to the police. If a crime has been committed, they can report what has happened to the police. They can call the police on 101, visit their local police station or report it confidentially online.
- University Procedure. If they choose to make a formal complaint to the University about a member of staff or a student there are procedures which set out the steps they will need to follow.
Get Support
There are many ways to access support at City St George's and a number of external organisations that provide specialist support. You can encourage the person to access the support they need.
Your mental health and wellbeing
If you are supporting someone, make sure you look after yourself. If you’ve heard something distressing or if something is troubling you, you may also want to access support for yourself.
- Vivup, City St George's Employee Assistance Provider (0800 023 9324) - Their telephone helpline provides staff members with expert support for life's ups and downs - 24/7, 365 days a year. Whatever mental, physical, financial or personal issue you're facing, you can find a wide range of resources to help you.
- The Wellbeing@City Hub provides details of additional information and support on wellbeing for staff members.
Student support and resources are available on the Student Health and Wellbeing pages on the Student Hub and students can complete the e-referral form to access these services. Students can also seek support through Student Support Services or contact staff in the Chaplaincy Team directly. Students can also access additional support through the Students’ Union.