A powerful read and very important to be raising this issue. I suspect that I've been spiked on at least two occasions in Manchester's Gay Village in not too dissimilar situations. There is a real underbelly in the dance scene / gay scene where this practice has gone on for decades with people spiking others drinks with GHB.
Unfortunately this practice in the last few years is now spilling out into the wider community with very real and scary undertones as explained in the story above. I would hesitate to guess that there is a massive under reporting of this issue across all communities. Although thankfully I didn't come to any harm and had my wits about me, it never occurred in my mind to involve the Police and put it down to experience.
I will speak about this with my friendship group about their experiences of this topic, because as your probably aware with the case of Reynhard Signega victims very often do not report cases of spiking.
Great read and keep up the good investigative work :0)
I'm so sorry to hear that, Jack. Thank you for sharing this with us, and thank you also for your insights into the prevalence of spiking in the dance and gay scene. We should look into this in the future.
This line from your comment in particular struck me: "It never occured in my mind to involve the police and put it down to experience." I think a lot of people would probably resonate with this, and Superintendent James Faulkner from GMP also mentioned that underreporting is another barrier to truly understanding the scale and threat of spiking.
The saddest thing is hearing how people diminish what happened to them, or feel as though it's their fault for going out to enjoy themselves. The knowledge that you can be hurt but not be able to stop it is hard to wrap your head around.
A really worthwhile read. Especially as I know a young person who was likely to have been spiked somewhere within the Gay Village. Happened pre-Covid and they were on a night out with mixed gender friends. She ended up visiting SARC but didn’t want to make a formal report to GMP.
Thank you for reading, Maz. In a world where a lot of people stay silent, it's incredibly courageous that people are now talking about it more and more. We need these accounts to understand what is happening, while ensuring those who share their experiences are protected and supported. Thank you again.
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us, Graeme. I know that hearing about spiking more frequently in the media has made a few of my friends stop and wonder if someone spiked them on nights where they became unexpectedly unresponsive and paralytic. As you say, it's a frustratingly difficult phenomenon to understand. It definitely needs more investigation. Thanks again.
Hi Anne, thanks for reading. I also wondered this re: the date filming the dancing, and then I felt frustrated, because I began relating to what Laura experienced: that you can only speculate about what happened, that you can never really know.
It's hard not to come away from this story feeling disheartened, but I'll leave you with this thought I had over the weekend. I was talking to the architect and Mill writer Phil Griffin about Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You, a BBC drama series exploring sexual consent with nuance and sensitivity, and we both agreed it was very positive about moving on from things. It shows that it is possible to heal, even when you don't have the right version of your story. Thanks again.
That’s a shame: I read it quite differently, as a number of honest conversations with real women who’ve had very unpleasant experiences, being quite candid about the fluid boundary between memory, hearsay and conjecture. A useful way of acknowledging the real risks people face, and teasing out by implication the challenges in keeping people safe and understanding what justice might mean. I think it’d be brave to say we’re getting everything right at the moment to ensure public safety and just outcomes, so pieces like this can prompt us to think what we might yet do better.
A really balanced and worthwhile article
Thanks for your lovely comment Mary, really glad you liked it.
A powerful read and very important to be raising this issue. I suspect that I've been spiked on at least two occasions in Manchester's Gay Village in not too dissimilar situations. There is a real underbelly in the dance scene / gay scene where this practice has gone on for decades with people spiking others drinks with GHB.
Unfortunately this practice in the last few years is now spilling out into the wider community with very real and scary undertones as explained in the story above. I would hesitate to guess that there is a massive under reporting of this issue across all communities. Although thankfully I didn't come to any harm and had my wits about me, it never occurred in my mind to involve the Police and put it down to experience.
I will speak about this with my friendship group about their experiences of this topic, because as your probably aware with the case of Reynhard Signega victims very often do not report cases of spiking.
Great read and keep up the good investigative work :0)
I'm so sorry to hear that, Jack. Thank you for sharing this with us, and thank you also for your insights into the prevalence of spiking in the dance and gay scene. We should look into this in the future.
This line from your comment in particular struck me: "It never occured in my mind to involve the police and put it down to experience." I think a lot of people would probably resonate with this, and Superintendent James Faulkner from GMP also mentioned that underreporting is another barrier to truly understanding the scale and threat of spiking.
The saddest thing is hearing how people diminish what happened to them, or feel as though it's their fault for going out to enjoy themselves. The knowledge that you can be hurt but not be able to stop it is hard to wrap your head around.
A really worthwhile read. Especially as I know a young person who was likely to have been spiked somewhere within the Gay Village. Happened pre-Covid and they were on a night out with mixed gender friends. She ended up visiting SARC but didn’t want to make a formal report to GMP.
Thank you for reading, Maz. In a world where a lot of people stay silent, it's incredibly courageous that people are now talking about it more and more. We need these accounts to understand what is happening, while ensuring those who share their experiences are protected and supported. Thank you again.
I May Destroy You: Michaela Coel. Watch, absorb, repeat.
I've been trying to find out for the last couple of months when drink spiking first started. In 1972 I went back to a woman's flat and the last thing I remember is sitting on the floor listening to music and drinking a class of red wine. When I woke up in her bed, I knew we'd had sex but couldn't remember anything about it. Anyway, we got on fine and the relationship continued until she went back to the States. I'd never thought anything more about it until recently. These letters indicate it has been going on for decades https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/26/womens-drinks-were-being-spiked-in-the-1950s , https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/25/drink-spiking-was-a-worry-for-generation-x-too
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us, Graeme. I know that hearing about spiking more frequently in the media has made a few of my friends stop and wonder if someone spiked them on nights where they became unexpectedly unresponsive and paralytic. As you say, it's a frustratingly difficult phenomenon to understand. It definitely needs more investigation. Thanks again.
Depressing and frightening account. I wonder why the guy filmed her dancing with the ' random guy' ? ..was it to cover himself if needs be .
Hi Anne, thanks for reading. I also wondered this re: the date filming the dancing, and then I felt frustrated, because I began relating to what Laura experienced: that you can only speculate about what happened, that you can never really know.
It's hard not to come away from this story feeling disheartened, but I'll leave you with this thought I had over the weekend. I was talking to the architect and Mill writer Phil Griffin about Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You, a BBC drama series exploring sexual consent with nuance and sensitivity, and we both agreed it was very positive about moving on from things. It shows that it is possible to heal, even when you don't have the right version of your story. Thanks again.
That’s a shame: I read it quite differently, as a number of honest conversations with real women who’ve had very unpleasant experiences, being quite candid about the fluid boundary between memory, hearsay and conjecture. A useful way of acknowledging the real risks people face, and teasing out by implication the challenges in keeping people safe and understanding what justice might mean. I think it’d be brave to say we’re getting everything right at the moment to ensure public safety and just outcomes, so pieces like this can prompt us to think what we might yet do better.