Keep an eye on your friends and their beverages too. If you think your drink tastes weird, pour it out If you’re offered a drink by someone you don’t know well, go to the bar with them and watch the bartender pour your drink Have your drink close to you, keep an eye on it and don’t leave it unattendedĪvoid sharing beverages with other people ShutterstockĪ few simple precautions everyone can take to reduce the risk of drink spiking include: If you believe your drink has been spiked or you have been sexually assaulted, contact the police to report the incident.īartenders should be wary of ‘red flag’ drinks requests like people asking for double or triple shots. If you feel very unwell you should seek medical attention. If you think your drink has been spiked, you should ask someone you trust to get you to a safe place, or talk to venue staff or security if you’re at a licensed venue. Some of the warning signs your drink might have been spiked include:įeeling lightheaded, or like you might faintįeeling drunk despite only having a very small amount of alcoholįeeling uncomfortable and confused when you wake up, with blanks in your memory about what happened the previous night. How can you know if it’s happened to you? It’s crucial to note that sexual assault is a moral and legal violation, whether or not the victim was intoxicated and whether or not the victim became intoxicated voluntarily. Two-thirds of the suspected incidents occurred in licensed venues like pubs and clubs.Īccording to an Australian study from 2006, around 3% of adult sexual assault cases occurred after perpetrators intentionally drugged victims outside of their knowledge. About half were under 24 years old and around one-third aged 25-34. It found four out of five victims were women. It estimated less than 15% of incidents were reported to police. One study, published in 2004, estimated there were about 3,000 to 4,000 suspected drink spiking incidents a year in Australia. If a perpetrator sexually assaults someone after spiking their drink, there are many complex reasons why victims may not want to report to police.Īlmost 90% of sexual assault victims do not go to police - this is how we can achieve justice for survivors It’s often not reported to police because victims can’t remember what has happened. We don’t have very good data on how often drink spiking occurs. Weekly Dose: GHB, a party drug that's easy to overdose on but was once used in childbirth So how can you know if your drink has been spiked, and as a society, how can we prevent it? But according to the data, the most common type of drink spiking is to “prank” someone or some other non-criminal motive. Perpetrators may spike victims’ drinks to commit sexual assault. They cause drowsiness, and can cause “blackouts” and memory loss at high doses. These drugs are colourless and odourless so they are less easily detected. The use of other drugs, such as benzodiazepines (like Rohypnol), GHB or ketamine is relatively rare. Slipping prescription or illegal drugs into an alcoholic or non-alcholic drink.Īlcohol is actually the drug most commonly used in drink spiking. Putting alcohol into a non-alcoholic drinkĪdding extra alcohol to an alcoholic drink
“Drink spiking” is when someone puts alcohol or other drugs into another person’s drink without their knowledge. RMIT University provides funding as a strategic partner of The Conversation AU.Ĭurtin University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU. Jarryd Bartle works as a consultant in the alcohol and other drug sector. She is a member of the Australian Government's Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and other Drugs, a member of the board of directors of Hello Sunday Morning and volunteers with The Loop Australia. She has previously been awarded funding by Australian and state governments, NHMRC and other bodies for evaluation and research into alcohol and other drug prevention and treatment, and currently receives funds from the Australian Government, and several state and territory governments. Nicole Lee works as a consultant in the alcohol and other drug sector and a psychologist in private practice. Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne), Curtin University
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