The United Kingdom will create a specific criminal offense to punish the act of drugging someone without their knowledge, in order to better protect women, especially in open places at night, Downing Street announced on Monday.
This chemical submission, called “spiking” in English, involves pouring drugs into someone’s drink or injecting them in the form of a stinger, and is mostly carried out in public places such as bars or clubs.
This is a crime that was already punishable by up to ten years in prison, but which until now was covered by several laws (drug repression, sexual assault), which complicated the work of the police and magistrates.
More than 6,000 reports in one year
Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet representatives of the police, nightlife and transport this Monday to ask them to coordinate against this “cowardly act” and to better protect women during nights out.
Around 10,000 people working in bars and pubs will also receive training until spring 2025 to learn how to detect this practice, help victims and gather evidence.
“It can be incredibly difficult for victims to report these heinous crimes and it is often very difficult to bring these cases to justice,” admitted Keir Starmer, quoted in a press release.
The Labor government, which came to power in July, promised to halve violence against women and girls within ten years. Between May 2022 and April 2023, the police received 6,732 complaints about “stings”, including almost a thousand cases related to stings.
But according to a YouGov poll from December 2022, 10% of British women and 5% of British men say they have already been victims. Most cases are not reported due to failure to identify symptoms at the time. And because the body quickly eliminates these medications, it is impossible to provide evidence.
The Mazan serial rape trial, which has been going on since early September in Avignon, southern France, has brought the debate on chemical submission to the forefront in many countries around the world thanks to extensive media coverage.
Source: BFM TV
