Stamp Out Spiking applaud this brave victim for sharing her harrowing story of being spiked through her disposable vape in August 2021.
Emma wasn’t drunk. She didn’t leave her drink unattended. She was with friends. Yet she still fell victim to spiking. A man that Emma thought was with her group of friends asked to try her vape, and within 10 minutes of handing it back to her, Emma started to feel the effects.
“I knew something was wrong… My legs collapsed on me and I was sweating… I lost control of everything.”
Stamp Out Spiking’s October 2022 poll of 2,067 UK adults found that of those who had been spiked, or knew someone who had been spiked, 3% of these were spiking through vape. Drink spiking remains the highest form of spiking at 79% of incidences. All forms of spiking are cowardly and can have long lasting effects on the victim.
“She’s obviously had too much to drink”
The injustice continued for Emma when the bar security team refused to help her friend call an ambulance, and her online campaigns for more to be done attracted victim blaming comments from internet trolls.
“They treated me like I’d done something wrong. But I was the victim.”
Stamp Out Spiking is doing everything we can to change this social landscape. We want to educate the public and your favourite venues to recognise the signs of spiking, and know what to do when it happens. Everyone has the right to know what is going into their body, and to feel safe on a night out!
“You are paralysed, but absolutely aware of everything that’s happening to you. And that’s terrifying.”
Victims of spiking experience long-lasting mental health impacts, whether or not there is a susquent assault or theft. Emma describes feeling sick with the thought about “what could have happened” had she not been with a trusted friend. Other victims we hear from experience anxiety about ever going out again, and feel violated after being made to feel out of control of their own body.
Watch Emma’s full story here
If you have a story you would like to share, or know a venue that would benefit from spiking awareness training, please get in touch. We fundraise to provide training across the UK so that we can all feel safe, and Stamp Out Spiking!