TW: Non-explicit mention of rape drugs, sexual assault and gender-based violence.
Francesca Di Fazio
On 8th November, Parliament debated an e-petition calling for the Government to make it a legal requirement for night-life venues to search guests on entry. The Government’s response was that it rests with local licensing authorities to enforce checks, as blanket measures “would not be appropriate.”
Hannah Thomson, a former student in Edinburgh, started the petition, which now counts over 172,000 signatures, amidst raising concerns over multiple cases of spiking by injection reported all over the UK. A growing number of students and young women reported blacking out during a night out, and later discovering needle injuries on their bodies.
Safety demands
Thomson’s petition demands stricter controls over night-life venues. Aside from general measures such as enhanced CCTV systems and giving out drinks with lids in order to avoid spiking, it also asks the Government to introduce a legal requirement to check guests at the door. This would tackle the risk of harmful objects, including needles, being carried into the premises.
In October, campaigners all over the country protested against the surge in needle spiking cases by boycotting nightclubs and other night-time venues, known as the Girls Night In initiative.
Parliamentary debate
The e-petition’s discussion in Parliament, held on Monday 8th November from 6pm, was an occasion to shed light on the wider issue of misogyny in the UK. MPs agreed that gender-based violence, of which spiking is a manifestation, is becoming an increasingly pressing concern. Calls were made for making misogyny a hate crime. “Women must be given confidence that the system is not stacked against them,” said MP Wera Hobhouse.
Issues of underreporting and inadequate institutional response surrounding spiking and similar crimes, whereby victims are often not believed or dismissed as drunk by the police or A&E personnel, were also discussed. However, rather than a focus on the reporting system, what emerged was an urgency to prevent and punish misogynistic crimes.
MP Jess Phillips said: “We have to make perpetrators feel as frightened of being caught with this type of thing [needles and/or rape drugs] in a nightclub as being caught with a knife.”
Opposition MPs mostly argued for the Government to take nation-wide action on the issue, in accordance with the petition’s core demand. MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who brought the petition forward for debate, said: “It is not good enough for this issue to be in the hands of some nightclub owners. The Government must realise that something has to be done.”
Government response
Minister Rachel Maclean, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, responded on behalf of the Government. She remarked women’s importance in local economies, including the night-time economy, and agreed on the need to take reports of spiking by injection or otherwise seriously.
However, rather than a blanket approach by the Government, the Minister pointed to local strategies and on the collaboration between local licensing authorities and police forces.
In particular, the Minister referred to the 2003 Licensing Act, which allows local licensing authorities to impose regulations on businesses in order to prevent crime and disorder. Furthermore, she mentioned initiatives carried out in collaboration with local organisations, such as in-venue safe spaces and assistance on the streets.
According to the Minister, the suggested local measures will also help fight the misogynistic and victim-blaming culture which is the source of spiking and other crimes against women.
The e-petition’s text, the Government’s response, and the debate’s recording and transcript can be found on the UK Parliament petitions website.
If you think you might have been spiked, reach out to someone you trust and seek medical assistance. The NHS Wales website provides a comprehensive guide on spiking. If you’ve been injected with a needle, refer to the NHS guidelines on needle-stick injuries and seek assistance.
Featured image courtesy of Pim Myten via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
Fran Di Fazio
Fran is a journalist with bylines in community news media and national magazines and a Twitter Editor at Empoword Journalism. They aim to uplift voices from marginalised and underprivileged communities through their work. They're a bookworm, a nature-lover and a chaotic good.