Experts fear cases of drink spiking may be on the rise across Australia as bars and clubs reopen to capacity crowds as Covid restrictions ease.
The issue has hit the headlines again recently. In Melbourne, several women recently spoke out after reporting their drinks being tampered with on nights out in popular nightclub districts Brunswick and Chapel Streets.
Meanwhile, in Perth, a man who allegedly met up with women through online dating sites and spiked their drinks before sexually assaulting them appeared in court last week.
A recent court case in Brisbane also highlighted the issue.
Drug and alcohol experts say that venues can follow simple rules to help keep patrons safe. But how do you detect it and what can be done to crack down on drink spiking?
Here is everything you need to know:
What is drink spiking?
Drink spiking is when someone puts another substance – which is usually alcohol – into a person’s drink without them knowing.
“Most commonly drink spiking is with other alcohol, partly because it’s easy to conceal alcohol in another alcoholic drink,” says Nicole Lee, a professor at the National Drug Research Institute.
This might look like increasing the number of shots in a drink, like a cocktail, without another person knowing.
Other depressant drugs are also used, but are less common.
Lee says drugs can be “colourless and odourless, so they’re not detected until you consume them”.
“There have been incidents of Rohypnol, ketamine, and GHB being used. Those drugs are clear and don’t smell.”
“The whole purpose of spiking is to incapacitate a person,” says Hayley Foster, the CEO of Full Stop Australia, a group that provides counselling to support people affected by sexual violence.
“Often, it is to reduce that person’s ability to resist sexual advances.”
Lee says people do use drink spiking to commit sexual assault, but often it’s used to “prank” people.
Four out of five victims are women, with half the victims being under 24 years old.
“Obviously there are definitely people who spike women’s drinks to commit a sexual assault or abuse them in some way, but a lot of drink spiking is just pranking someone,” Lee says.
How frequently does it happen?
Historically, drink spiking incidents have always been very under-reported.
Often victims won’t report drink spiking incidents because they are worried people won’t believe them, or they think they will be blamed for what happened – especially if they were already drinking or taking drugs, says Laura Bajurny, a knowledge manager for policy and advocacy at the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.
Women are the usual targets, and Bajurny says one-third of spiking incidents are related to sexual assault. But incidents of spiking remain “very under-reported”.
“There can be so much victim blaming and second-guessing,” Bajurny says. “Especially if they had been drinking or using other drugs at the time.”
“But there is a world of difference between choosing to consume alcohol or drugs, and consuming them against your will. And no one should have that choice taken away.”
Foster says Full Stop received an influx of calls as Covid restrictions eased in Sydney at the end of 2021 and young people began going out and on dates “for the first time in a long time”. Among them, the New South Wales based sexual violence hotline noticed a “marked increase” in calls related to spiking.
“Often, callers will be unsure if they have in fact been assaulted,” Foster says.
“They might not remember anything, or might even blame themselves.”
How do you know if it’s happened to you?
For many people, it may feel like becoming really intoxicated really quickly, even if you haven’t had much to drink.
“You hear cases of people who lose feeling in their legs … and their senses have been affected,” Foster says. “People wake up in someone else’s apartment and don’t remember how they got there.”
There are warning signs you can look out for during a night out, like:
Feeling dizzy or faint
Feeling ill or sleepy
Feeling drunk even if you’ve only had a small amount of alcohol
Passing out
Waking up feeling uncomfortable and confused, with memory blanks about the night before
“If you experience any of these symptoms, stop drinking and … make sure you are with someone you trust,” Lee says. “Ask the bar staff or the security staff as they might be able to help.”
How to avoid drink spiking?
Lee says solutions were “delicate to navigate” because the entire onus shouldn’t be on the person to protect themselves from it happening.
The real solution, Bajurny says, is for cultural change to occur. “Until we finally see that change in culture, there are simple safety precautions you can take while enjoying a night out.”
“Make sure you keep your drink close to you, don’t share drinks with other people, especially if you haven’t seen where it’s come from.” Lee says.
Bajurny says, when out with someone new, buy or pour your own drinks. If your date or a stranger offers you a drink, accompany them to the bar. Watch the bartender prepare your drink, and take the drink from the bartender yourself.
Watch out for if the drink they order is different to what you requested, and stop drinking if you think it tastes weird. Also avoid sharing drinks.
And don’t let your drink out of your sight – especially if you have to leave it for any reason, like going to the toilet or dancing. This includes water. If you come back from elsewhere to your unfinished drink, do not finish it. If you can, choose drinks in bottles with lids that you can close shut and keep with you when moving.
But just because you are holding on to a drink does not make it safe. Be wary of strangers moving around you. When in a crowd with a drink, hold your cup with your hand covering the top.
If a venue offers shared water, take note of the type of jug it is in. It is safer to drink from shared jugs if they are closed and accessible by a tap, rather than a pourable jug open at the top. If you can order your own water from the bar, do so.
Caution should also be taken with shared jugs of alcohol brought to tables. If you think water or alcohol from a shared jug tastes weird, do not finish it.
Foster urges people to plan “a strategy with friends”. Let a trusted person know your whereabouts, who will check in on you and who you can reach out to if feeling uneasy, uncomfortable or unwell.
Bystanders also have a role to play. “If you are a person in the world, and you see a situation that feels off … tell the staff you are concerned,” Bajurny says.
“Even if you feel paranoid, speaking up can prevent something awful happening to another person.”
“A properly trained bartender … will pour drinks on the counter, not behind, so you can see what is going into them,” Lee says.
Venues taking precaution “will go a long way” to stopping spiking, Lee says.
What are the consequences?
Drink spiking is a criminal offence in all Australian states and territories. Penalties include imprisonment – ranging from two to 25 years.
“Most jurisdictions have specific spiking laws – so you can’t spike food or drink with anything,” Lee says. “The consequences of the laws are different in each state. In Victoria, it’s two years’ imprisonment”.
Queensland has up to 14 years’ imprisonment if the perpetrator is found to have spiked someone’s drink to commit a crime, such as sexual assault.
Lee says that the charge of drink spiking is separate to a charge of sexual assault.
“If you have been sexually assaulted you should report it to the police and to the hospital to make sure you’re OK,” she says.
