Campaign for nightclubs boycott in demand to tackle drink spiking

A campaign is calling for a boycott of nightclubs and bars in a demand for the ‘epidemic’ of drink spiking to be tackled.

The ‘Girls Night In’ campaign has asked for women to avoid the venues on Thursday, October 28, in protest at safety concerns not being taken seriously.

It has gathered support from across the UK, with campaign groups having been established in cities including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

The action comes after Nottinghamshire Police confirmed it was looking into multiple reports of people being ‘spiked physically’ in the city.

Student Zara Owen, 19, earlier spoke about her experience of blacking out shortly after arriving at a nightclub in Nottingham, before waking up with pain in her leg and discovering a pin prick.

In a post on Instagram, GirlsNightIn-Glasgow set out their reasons for boycotting nightclubs.

They called for greater repercussions, greater staff training, increased searches on entrance and higher quality CCTV at the bar.

The group has also called for better support for victims, more obvious directions on how to get help, and stoppers/cup covers to be provided free at every bar.

They also called for treatment and prevention policies from government that “match the severity of the issue”.

Meanwhile, a petition to the UK Parliament calling for a law to be introduced which would mean nightclubs would be required to search guests on arrival to prevent harmful weapons and other items being taken in has reached over 100,000 signatures.

The petition raised the issue of ‘date rape’ drugs being used in clubs and asked why more was not being done to tackle the issue.