Lorna Street had never heard of drink spiking before she found herself slumped over a toilet in a Norwich nightclub drifting in and out of consciousness until the early hours of the morning.
The 26-year-old told The Independent she was aged 18 at the time and was “fresh into uni” when she was targeted in a club.
She said she hadn’t drunk anything before getting there but ordered a large glass of red wine upon arrival which she left unattended as she chatted to her friends.
Ms Street is now backing a legal challenge against the government by campaigners who claim not enough is being done to tackle the crime. She said: “If nothing has changed then this terrible crime is going to keep happening. I don’t want someone to go through what I went through.”
The Good Law Project and the Gemini Project has initiated legal proceedings against the Home Office alleging it has failed to comply with its statutory duty to deliver a promised report on spiking and has not outlined how it intends to solve the issue. The deadline for the report to be published was in April.
Recounting her ordeal, Ms Street, who now campaigns on the issue, said she was in the club between 10.30pm and 4am in the morning but the time flew by in an instant after she drank the spiked drink.
Suddenly she found herself in a garden full of people and remembered instantly feeling sick.
“I ran to the toilet – I don’t remember much else that night. I was going in and out of consciousness in the bathroom. I was hunched over the toilet all night intermittently being sick. I remember the bouncer carried me out the club over his shoulder.”
“I woke up in a house I didn’t recognise,” Ms Street added. “I was very confused. It was a friend of a friend's place but it was still disconcerting as to how I ended up there. I remember feeling extremely, extremely hungover but I only had a few sips of my wine.”
She said it wasn’t until stories about drink spiking emerged in the news in autumn 2021 that she realised she had been spiked.
“It has made me more anxious about going out,” she reflected. “I am aware of where I put my drink. I get anxious for my friends and family members. It has made me struggle to switch off as I’m constantly vigilant for spiking and protective over the people I’m with.”
And she is not alone. Drink spiking is a major problem – with data from police forces in England and Wales showing there were almost 5,000 reported needle and drink spikings from September 2021 to September 2022.
More than half of the incidents happened in pubs, bars and clubs, while nearly two-thirds of reports happen on weekends.
Lucy Nevitt, co-founder of The Gemini Project, said spiking was a “direct violation of a person's body autonomy”.
She added: “We are concerned that in not publishing this important report the government is reneging on both their statutory duty to address the issue and their commitments to combatting violence against women and girls”.
Dawn Dines, chief executive and founder of the charity Stamp Out Spiking, told The Independent: “Drink spiking is hugely underreported. It is not a recognised crime in law and the key emergency services are not adequately trained or resourced to deal with it.
“It can have a life-changing impact on the victims, who may never know who has raped them or if someone filmed has them. They could be talking to their perpetrator and have no idea. Instead, they have a void in their life forever. This is so traumatic and distressing for victims.”
Earlier in the year, Sir Keir Starmer promised Labour would make spiking a specific offence to tackle a “terrifying rise” in the crime.
Tamara Walters, of Good Law Project, said: “It’s impossible to solve a problem when you don’t even know how big it is. So we are demanding that the government publishes the report setting out the nature and prevalence of spiking, as well as the steps they are taking in response which parliament has required it to do.”
Helena Conibear, chief executive of the Alcohol Education Trust, said its enquiries about the Home Office’s next steps have been met with “vague and non-committal responses”.
She added: "Although prosecutions can be brought presently, with a sentence of up to 10 years for spiking, we are very keen to see a standalone law that addresses spiking of all kinds. This will send a clear message to perpetrators of zero tolerance of this heinous crime.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Spiking is a cowardly act which this government takes very seriously. Our priority is ensuring that victims receive the support they need and perpetrators of this crime are brought to justice.”
