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Spiking: What To Do If You Think You've Been Affected

This post contains information on what to do if you or a friend is affected by spiking and who you can reach out to.

Beds SU

By Beds SU

Wednesday, 27 October 2021

Beds SU is concerned and saddened to hear about the rise of spiking affecting women across the UK.

We want our students to feel as safe as possible when enjoying a night out. In this post, we've provided some information on what to do if you or a friend is affected and who you can reach out to.

What is spiking?

Spiking is a type of drugging. Commonly, it involves surreptitiously and intentionally contaminating the food or drink or another person. The victim of the spiking may then be assaulted or taken advantage of. In the context of recent news stories, it’s the spiking of drinks in night-time venues that has seen a reported increase. 

As well as drink spiking, there’s also been a reported increase in using needles to drug victims directly.

How to spot the common effects of spiking

The effects of spiking vary from person to person, but can include the following:

  • Loss of balance
  • Lowered inhibitions
  • Visual problems
  • Confusion
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Unconsciousness

What to do if you think you or a friend has been spiked

If you think you have been spiked, speak to a member of staff at the venue immediately. 

This could be security staff, bar staff or venue managers. If you know who did it, you should indicate this to a member of staff.

If you think a friend has been spiked, stay with them and report it to venue staff. Do not let them leave the venue on their own. If their condition worsens, call 999.

What to do if you think you have been assaulted

One possible effect of spiking can be loss of memory. You therefore may not be sure of what happened or if an assault has taken place. It is important that if you suspect you've been assaulted, physically or sexually, that you tell someone as soon as possible.

Support at the University

The University and Beds SU have the following support services available to you:

You can also speak to the police or you can visit your local doctors surgery or the hospital.

Ask For "Angela"

At our campus venues (The Metro in Luton and The Hub in Bedford), all of our staff have been trained in the "Ask for Angela" scheme.

If you are in an uncomfortable position or feel you are in danger, you can approach our staff and ask to speak to "Angela".

This a signal to staff that you need help. Our trained staff will safely and discreetly remove you from the situation.

What happens next?

The team at Beds SU are continuing to have conversations on this topic. We want all our members to feel safe when they’re on a night out. 

So far, we have;

  • Enabled the provision of drinks test kits in our two venues
  • Made drink covers available on request

Rest assured, we are continuing to talk about this. We’ll update this article when we have more news.