Title – Lip gloss test that spots if your drink is spiked with rape drugs (Evening Standard 16-10-09)
Title – Women 'duped' by spiking myth (Metro 27-10-09)
‘Date Rape’ or ‘Drug Assisted Rape / Sexual Assault’ is a serious issue, unfortunately the press have done victims and potential victims of this depraved crime no favours. If ever there was a need for a sensible approach then this subject is it.
Of coarse we welcome any device which helps reduce the risks faced from Drug Assisted Rape and this lip gloss / testing strip can be one line of defence. There are problems; how many strips are provided in comparison with the number of drink that might be consumed? How co-ordinated will an alcohol consumer be after a few drinks to remember or even be able to complete the fiddly test? But I don’t want to take anything away; something is always better than nothing.
What is much more important is education, alcohol retailers and consumers alike need to take proactive measures to prevent ‘drink spiking’ in the first place.
The first step is understanding the nature of the problem. When I ask a group I am teaching what substances are used in ‘drink spiking’, they generally refer to Rohypnol, GHB, Liquid Ecstasy, the more enlightened ones mention Ketamine, GBL, but strangely I almost always have to drag the most common drug out of them…. Alcohol.
Alcohol is the drug most commonly used in Drug Assisted Rape; fact.
I have yet to see any accurate numbers in relation to ‘drink spiking’. There are horror stories written in the press, but in reality that we may never see accurate figures, for the reasons highlighted in this second article. Sadly I would agree from experience that in many cases people now scream ‘drink spiking’ because they are embarrassed or unsure of how they got so drunk. The fact is those working in the Licensed Retail Sector have to take every potential case seriously and can never dismiss the potential consequences of a real drink spiking as exaggeration or an excuse.
If we consider that because of excess alcohol consumption many people have had nights they can’t remember (or part of the night); that alcohol is the most frequently used ‘date rape’ drug; that Ketamine now being used ‘recreationally’ as a drug of choice by 125,000 people in the UK; and that ‘date rape’ drugs they tend not to be traceable within relatively short period of time, it makes the prospect of ever finding out the true numbers of people spiked very low.
For those in danger of having their drink spiked, education into the risks and how to protect yourself from them is the most important step. Just understanding that alcohol is the most prevalent drug used in drink spiking, should go some way to helping people understand the real dangers. Protecting your drinks, being cautious of strangers behaviour or accepting drinks from them and in some cases the use of testing kits is a start. Having friends you trust to look after you, who are loyal, unlikely to disappear half way through the night and who will ensure you get home safely is the best ways of protecting yourself.
At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the Licensed Retail Sector to help them sell alcohol more responsibly. These include; The Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR) designed for front-line staff to help them meet their statutory requirements; The National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) which qualifies candidates to apply for their personal licence; Our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course compliments these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and alcohol related disorder.
For young people we run the Certificate in Alcohol Awareness (CAA) which provides real honest advice on the effects of alcohol and sensible measures which can be taken to ensure that the harm that can occur as a result of excessive consumption are reduced.
Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.
For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.
Title – Women 'duped' by spiking myth (Metro 27-10-09)
‘Date Rape’ or ‘Drug Assisted Rape / Sexual Assault’ is a serious issue, unfortunately the press have done victims and potential victims of this depraved crime no favours. If ever there was a need for a sensible approach then this subject is it.
Of coarse we welcome any device which helps reduce the risks faced from Drug Assisted Rape and this lip gloss / testing strip can be one line of defence. There are problems; how many strips are provided in comparison with the number of drink that might be consumed? How co-ordinated will an alcohol consumer be after a few drinks to remember or even be able to complete the fiddly test? But I don’t want to take anything away; something is always better than nothing.
What is much more important is education, alcohol retailers and consumers alike need to take proactive measures to prevent ‘drink spiking’ in the first place.
The first step is understanding the nature of the problem. When I ask a group I am teaching what substances are used in ‘drink spiking’, they generally refer to Rohypnol, GHB, Liquid Ecstasy, the more enlightened ones mention Ketamine, GBL, but strangely I almost always have to drag the most common drug out of them…. Alcohol.
Alcohol is the drug most commonly used in Drug Assisted Rape; fact.
I have yet to see any accurate numbers in relation to ‘drink spiking’. There are horror stories written in the press, but in reality that we may never see accurate figures, for the reasons highlighted in this second article. Sadly I would agree from experience that in many cases people now scream ‘drink spiking’ because they are embarrassed or unsure of how they got so drunk. The fact is those working in the Licensed Retail Sector have to take every potential case seriously and can never dismiss the potential consequences of a real drink spiking as exaggeration or an excuse.
If we consider that because of excess alcohol consumption many people have had nights they can’t remember (or part of the night); that alcohol is the most frequently used ‘date rape’ drug; that Ketamine now being used ‘recreationally’ as a drug of choice by 125,000 people in the UK; and that ‘date rape’ drugs they tend not to be traceable within relatively short period of time, it makes the prospect of ever finding out the true numbers of people spiked very low.
For those in danger of having their drink spiked, education into the risks and how to protect yourself from them is the most important step. Just understanding that alcohol is the most prevalent drug used in drink spiking, should go some way to helping people understand the real dangers. Protecting your drinks, being cautious of strangers behaviour or accepting drinks from them and in some cases the use of testing kits is a start. Having friends you trust to look after you, who are loyal, unlikely to disappear half way through the night and who will ensure you get home safely is the best ways of protecting yourself.
At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the Licensed Retail Sector to help them sell alcohol more responsibly. These include; The Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR) designed for front-line staff to help them meet their statutory requirements; The National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) which qualifies candidates to apply for their personal licence; Our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course compliments these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and alcohol related disorder.
For young people we run the Certificate in Alcohol Awareness (CAA) which provides real honest advice on the effects of alcohol and sensible measures which can be taken to ensure that the harm that can occur as a result of excessive consumption are reduced.
Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.
For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.
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