“We’re certainly getting more calls about it,” Hayley Foster, CEO of sexual violence counselling organisation Full Stop Australia, told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“But we’re not sure whether that’s because there’s an increase in prevalence or whether it’s actually that more and more people are recognising it and feeling comfortable and ok about reaching out for support.”
“It can be one of the most traumatic experiences someone can experience,” she said.e internalise it and think, ‘oh I should’ve been more careful, if only I’d done this, that or the other’.”four out of five victims of drink spiking on record are women“The whole point of drink spiking is to reduce a person’s ability to resist,” Foster said.
“I think it’s really important that we recognise that this is really serious and it is really common and expected that people will have trauma impacts as a result of that.”
How do you know if your drink has been spiked?
says common symptoms to look out for are- feeling dizzy or faint
- feeling nauseous or sleepy
- feeling drunk (even if you’ve only had a couple of drinks or no other drugs)
- passing out
- vomiting
What should you do if you think you’ve been spiked?
Drink spiking is traumatising. What are the long-term support options?
rauma-specialist counselling and care is really important. Full Stop is just one of many support and recovery providers that can offer these services, just call 1800 385 578.“When we talk about what people can do it should never really be the responsibility of an individual to prevent it from happening to themselves. That’s where the victim-blaming comes in,” Foster said.
“But we can practise safety strategies such as agreeing with friends to look out for each other and watching each other’s drinks and not pressuring each other to take more drinks and drugs.”
“People should be able to go out and have a good time without the threat of assault,” Foster said.
Help is available.If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800RESPECT hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online or call Full Stop on 1800 385 578.Under 25? You can reach Kids Helplineat 1800 55 1800 or chat online.The post ‘Certainly Getting More Calls’: How To Know If Your Drink’s Spiked Bc It Seems To Be On The Rise appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
