- If you start to feel strange, sick or drunk when you know that you couldn’t be drunk, seek help from a trusted friend or the venue management.
- If you think you have been spiked, get a close friend to get you out of the place as soon as possible and take you home or to hospital (if seriously unwell). Or ring a friend, relative or partner and ask them to come and pick you up.
- If you need emergency help, you can call 999 if you’re off campus or call Security on 01273 873333 if you’re on campus. If you need an ambulance, it is quickest for Security to call 999 and guide them to you.
- Don’t hesitate to call for medical help if you need it. Ring either your GP or 111 for non-emergency medical advice.
- Avoid consuming more alcohol.
- Don’t over drink water in a bid to 'flush' the substance away. Too much water can be just as dangerous.
- If you feel unsafe, vulnerable or threatened you can ask for help by approaching venue staff and asking them for ‘Angela’. This code-phrase indicates to staff that you need help and a trained member of staff will then support and assist you.
- Make sure you can trust the person you ask for help. Don’t go anywhere with a stranger or acquaintance.
- If you’re in Brighton, you can go to ‘Safe Space’. On Friday and Saturday nights, ‘Safe Space’ supports anyone who has become intoxicated, distressed, or injured during their night out. ‘Safe Space’ is open 11.30 pm to 4 am on Fridays and Saturdays. More information on the support they offer and where to find them is available here: https://www.changegrowlive.org/safe-space-brighton/info
- Once you are safely home ask someone to stay with you until the effects of the drug have worn off, which could be several hours.
- If you think you have been assaulted you can also find guidance here on Report and Support.
If you think a friend has been spiked:
- Tell a bar manager, bouncer or member of staff
- Stay with them and keep talking to them
- Call an ambulance if their condition deteriorates
- Don’t let them go home on their own
- Don’t let them leave with someone you don’t know or trust
- Don’t let them drink more alcohol - this could lead to more serious problems
Reporting Spiking
Spiking should always be taken very seriously. We remind all students that it is unacceptable to introduce any substance into someone else’s body without their consent, including adding alcohol to drinks.
Spiking is a serious crime and carries up to a 10-year prison sentence in the UK, and spiking with the intention of making someone more vulnerable to assault or rape is an even more serious offence.
There are several options in terms of reporting the incident:
- Tell the venue staff what has happened
- You can report the incident to the police using their non-emergency number, 101. The police can provide urine/blood testing services if necessary.
- You can make the University aware of what has happened by using this Report and Support tool.
- If you would prefer to access support from outside the University, you can contact Victim Support whether you reported the crime to the police or not, and no matter how long ago it happened.
- You might prefer not to report it at all.