Recommendation 8

As part of its national communications campaign to say “Enough” to violence against women and girls, the Government should engage with the night-time industry, the education sector, and the health sector to produce a national anti-spiking communications campaign. The awareness raising campaign should: (i) send a clear message that there is no acceptable defence for spiking, whether done for fun or malicious intent; that it can have devastating consequences for victims; and that spiking is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison; (ii) encourage victims and venues to report incidents to the police, with the promise that all reports will be investigated; and (iii) communicate immediate and longer-term sources of support for spiking victims, including testing.