Girls Against Spiking receives support from Glasgow police

 

Glasgow Police have pledged their support to prevent drink spiking and raise awareness of the dangers posed. The campaign, Girls Against Spiking, was created by Strathclyde student Cara Teven in September, and has since been backed by Strathclyde University Union.

A spokesperson for the Union said: “We are delighted to be pioneering this new initiative and proud that the idea came from a Strathy student.

“Strath Union recently won three awards at the prestigious Best Bar None Awards, and the anti-spiking lids reinforce our message that we are a safe space for students to enjoy a night out.”

Strathclyde University Union has since led efforts to tackle drink spiking in Glasgow, having been the first establishment to provide drink-lids at their bars.

Gillian McDonald, assistant chief constable, has stated: “We are supporting Girls Against Spiking to help raise awareness of drink spiking and encourage people to report these incidents.

“Drinks can be spiked using drugs or alcohol and there is not always a sexual purpose behind it. We are aware of incidents where people spike a friend’s drink on a night out because they think it’s funny. This can put that person at risk as you have no idea how a drug or excess alcohol will affect someone, their actions and their safety.

“Lids will help reduce the chance of your drink being spiked and we fully support the campaign to reduce the likelihood of drink spiking for men and women. We always encourage people not to leave their drink unattended or let a stranger buy you a drink without knowing what’s in it.”

Cara Teven has publicly shared her support to get more student unions involved in the campaign: “Moving forward, I’ve had a lot of response to the idea of first getting all the student unions involved in the campaign because this would truly create a safe place for everyone free from spiking.

“Importantly, Girls Against Spiking is the voice but more than that every single person which has liked the page is part of a massive movement and this is just the medium through which they are making their nights out safe again.”