Any form of spiking is never okay. If you think you may have been spiked or know for sure, due to medical support you received, it may be hard to know what to do next or how to feel. You may know that something happened but not remember everything – this is normal and would be an impact of the drug that was used. It doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
What happened was not your fault. What you do next is your choice.
Think
- If you believe you have been spiked and are on a night out, speak to venue staff immediately. If you are concerned that the person that spiked you may be within your group, when you talk to the staff ‘Ask for Angela’. This is a code phrase that will let the staff know to discreetly remove you from your current environment.
- If you are unable to find staff, or are in a private home, find a friend that you trust and ask them to help you get medical attention. You should try to get to Accident and Emergency as quickly as possible for them to take blood tests and monitor your wellbeing.
- If you are alone, or do not feel you can trust those nearby, get to a safe place and call 111 for immediate medical advice.
Report
There are different ways you can tell someone what you have experienced. You might make a disclosure to someone, make a formal complaint or report directly to the Police.
- Call 111: if you were previously unable to seek medical help and the spiking happened within the past 72 hours they may be able to arrange a blood sample that will show what drug was used.
- Contact the venue where the spiking happened: every venue should have complaint processes and policies in place to deal with incidents that happen in their venue. Many will want to know (if they don’t already) that an instance of spiking has occurred.
- Report and Support: you can make an anonymous disclosure or report with details. By providing your contact details an adviser will be able to explain the options and support available to you, in confidence. If you choose to disclose anonymously, we won't be able to contact you and it is unlikely we will take action by it does help us gather data on instances of spiking.
- Report to the Police: many police forces will allow you to report a crime online – you can check which is your local police force here. You can also contact the Police over the phone by dialling 101.
Support
- As a student you can also reach out to our Wellbeing Service which offers a range of help and support. You can book an appointment with the Wellbeing Service, with a Wellbeing Adviser who can talk you through the support available.
- As a staff member you can access support via the Staff Support Scheme, your manager or HR via HR Business Partner hrbusinesspartner@southwales.ac.uk
- Seek External Support - There are a number of external specialist organisations that provide specialist support, including counselling. A list of organisations can be found here.
- Staff and Students can reach out to the University's EDI Team via equality@southwales.ac.uk; or to Dignity at Work and Study Advisors
- Staff can reach out to relevant Trade Unions (UCU, Unison and GMB)