Young people demand action on growing drink-spiking claims

Reports of drink spiking are at a five-year high — now a group of young people is taking the fight to parliament, demanding mandatory training for bar staff.

As reports of drink spiking incidents soar across NSW, a coalition of worried young people is demanding mandatory prevention training in bars and clubs.

And in an alarming new trend, it’s not just drinks getting spiked — some partygoers are reporting being jabbed by needles on the dance floor, a way of spiking that has already rocked Europe in the past year.

Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research data shows spiking reports are at a five-year high, with 186 official cases in the last financial year.

However cases of drink spiking are notoriously difficult to prove, with some not reported until days later and can come against the overlap of the effects of heavy drinking.

A group of young people from Newcastle with stories of spikings and sexual assaults on dancefloors are taking their fight to parliament, with a petition calling for the “Legislative Assembly to implement mandatory drink spiking and sexual violence prevention training for all security and bar staff at nightclubs, including spiking prevention kits, educational resources, and posters in venues that will assist with patron safety and awareness.”

Demi Parkinson (l to r), Jemma O’Brien, Sarah Williams and Ethan Fraser want mandatory training for bar staff to spot and prevent drink spiking. Picture: Peter Lorimer

Nurse Demi Parkinson believes her drink was spiked, for the second time in a year, when she was chatting with a group of men she believes were from Italy, who bought her a drink and “really wanted me to skol it.”

She said she had “only had two or three drinks” but “20 minutes later I just went downhill, I started blacking out and those men dragged me out of the bar,” she said.

Ms Parkinson alleges that when her friends tried to report a possible spiking to security, they were met with aggression and physically intimidated by a guard.

The venue is investigating the conduct of the guard.

Newcastle student Ethan Fraser had noticed more and more of his female friends were reporting being spiked, but never thought someone would try and do the same to him.

Out with mates last year, Mr Fraser was about to down a drink when a friend noticed someone drop a pill into it.

Demi Parkinson believes her drink was spiked on two separate occasions.

Ethan Fraser never thought it would happen to him. Picture: Peter Lorimer

“As a male you’re not really thinking about it … since then now I always have my guard up,” he said.

“It seems like everyone has been spiked or knows someone who has been spiked.”

The petition is being tabled to parliament by Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp, who says drink spiking and needle spiking rates are likely much higher than official figures.

“People don’t want to be associated with stigma, they lose their memory, worry about not being believed or dismissed with the overlap of symptoms,” he said.

“It’s a no-brainer. Additional training at worse case you are saving people lives or saving them from trauma and other negative repercussions.”

The most common form of spiking is excessive alcohol and often done by mates trying to get their friends drunk.

The Australian Hotels Association said they would support more training, but warned the statistics refer to reports, and not confirmed crimes.

NSW Police said partygoers should be on high alert this silly season as more people celebrate at pubs and clubs.

“The NSW Police Force has seen an increase in reported drink spiking, rather than an increase of actual drink-spiking incidents,” Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden said.

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Originally published as Young people demand action on growing drink-spiking claims