'It's a cowardly crime' - campaigners demand action to stamp out spiking

Dawn Dines has been campaigning to end the "epidemic" of spiking for decades.

The founder of Stamp Out Spiking was travelling in 1989 when she was targeted in a bar. Since then she's seen how big an issue it is globally as well as closer to home.

Her work regularly sees her hearing harrowing stories from spiking victims - some of whom have been sexually assaulted following a spiking incident.

She pulls no punches when it comes to those who commit these acts.

More spiking convictions needed

She told our #Spiked investigation: "It's a cowardly crime. It's filthy isn't it?

"The more people think that way the better, so let's try and make the perpetrators look at themselves.

"We need to start gaining convictions, then everyone will have to adhere to the same set of rules to safeguard potential victims."

READ: What it's really like to be #Spiked

Spiking as a specific offence

Our #Spiked investigation has set out how common spiking is in villages, towns and cities up and down the country, and how people often don't know where to turn if it happens to them.

11% of women and 6% of men have been spiked, according to figures seen by our investigation.

Dawn is a strong advocate of changing the law by amending the 1861 Offences against the Person Act to make spiking a specific offence - something the government says is not necessary.

She said: "We need the law to updated so its recordable, and it'll give a clear and concise message to members of the public around what is spiking.

"It doesn't need me to spell out how important this is, it's just up to the powers above to work out how they're going to update the law to make sure the perpetrators of this crime have the full facts about what's going to happen to them."

READ: Ex-Police Chief calls for new law on spiking

People found guilty of spiking can face up to 10 years in prison, but only a handful of cases end in conviction each year.

Dawn says action can be taken now that can improve those conviction rates: "We tell people to secure the drink to keep the evidence, we tell nightclubs to keep the CCTV to make the Police's job at lot easier.

"These are all steps that can be easily done so that everyone is working collaboratively."

What the government say

The Home Office says its invested £125m to make streets safer, including initiatives to tackle drink spiking, campaigns to raise awareness and training for bar staff.

They've also reclassified three so called "date rape" drugs from Class C to Class B, which means anyone carrying it unlawfully faces more serious punishments.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Spiking is a cowardly act which is already illegal and something this government takes very seriously which is why we’ve already looked at this issue.

READ: Nine out of 10 spikings aren't reported to Police

"We carefully considered making spiking a specific offence, listening to a range of experts, including the police, criminal justice partners, victims and others. We decided this was already effectively covered by existing legislation.

“Anyone who commits this crime faces up to ten years behind bars and with that law in place our focus is instead on preventing this crime, supporting victims and putting perpetrators behind bars.”

Getting support if you've been spiked

If you've got questions about spiking or want to know more

Find out what the Police say about it, in terms of signs and symptoms and getting support

Check out the I've Been Spiked Instagram feed

Get advice from DrinkAware

There's more on the Rape Crisis website if you'd like to explore it there

And find out about the Stamp Out Spiking campaign

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