A UNIVERSITY student has called for more to be done to prevent drink-spiking after revealing her terrible ordeal at a nightclub earlier this year.
The second-year University of Reading student, who did not wish to be named, told the Chronicle of her ‘awful experience’ after losing feeling in her legs when drugs were slipped into her drink.
Describing the terror she felt under the influence of the drug, the woman said she would rather break a bone than relive the fallout from spiking.
The incident left her feeling ‘angry’ and her frustrations were heightened when a police officer allegedly told her not to let the incident ‘get to her.’
READ MORE: Thames Valley in top ten areas for drink spiking
The 20-year-old now wants stronger security measures at the campus-based Student Union club, where the reported incident occurred one evening in early March.
The student said: “This guy was paying interest in me and at some point, I lost the rest of my group, and I was just with him.
“He kept coming close to me, tried to kiss me, and he was close enough to put something in my drink.
“As soon as I get back to my friends, he disappears, even though he's been standing by me the whole night.
“I get home probably five minutes later, I can't speak and I lose complete control of my body.
READ MORE: Student fears she was injected by needle on night out
“My head is lolling, I’m throwing up a lot. My friends call my housemates and they come to pick me up and get me in a taxi.
“I pass out for I think an hour on my friend's bed. He wakes me up to check on me and at that point, I can't move and I can't speak. He calls A&E and I wait for five hours, but they don’t do any tests, they just kept asking me questions about what happened.
“It was very distressing. It sounds dramatic now, but I would rather break a bone again, which I have, than go through that again, because it was such an awful experience. I was just so angry.”
What repotedly happened over the proceeding weeks further frustrated the student.
READ MORE: Woman spiked in popular Reading nightclub via injection
After recovering, she reported the incident to police and says it took officers 12 hours to speak to her. She gave police details of who she was with but the student claims officers did not make contact with any of her friends.
It was also alleged that police failed to identify the suspected offender, despite the woman giving officers his social media details.
The UoR student also reported to have had difficulties in sorting out a urine test to assist with police enquiries and alleged the University could have done more to support her.
She said: “There's no communication between the services, it seems there's no like system in place to deal with spiking. For each person I spoke to, it felt like they were dealing with it for the first time.
“I had a call with police a few weeks later. This officer said he handles all the spiking cases in the area and basically his advice to me was to not let it get to me and to put stoppers on my bottles.”
However, a Thames Valley Police spokesperson said the force takes drink spiking ‘very seriously’ and 'work closely with venues' to ensure the safety of customers.
READ MORE: Police to assess drink spiking at nightclubs
They said: “We are also asking them to be vigilant and report any instances of drink spiking to us so we can investigate and take any action against offenders.
“We will continue in our patrols of the night-time economy to provide reassurance to the public and support to venues.
“We would encourage anyone who feels that they may have been spiked to raise it to security staff within venues, or if they have come outside of a venue to one of our officers.
“We take any reports of spiking very seriously and will investigate all proportionate lines of enquiry into such crimes.”
While drinks covers and bottle stoppers have been introduced in many venues to prevent spiking incidents inside clubs, the Reading student called for stricter security measures outside bars.
The student suggested proactive measures such as thorough searches of clothing and bags and prompts on ID cards that warn security guards of previous bad behaviour.
READ MORE: Drink spiking reports made by University of Reading students
She added: “I know a good few people this has happened to in [the Student] Union [club] or just around Reading. It’s just so common. I'm very anxious.”
A spokesperson from the University of Reading said spiking is ‘completely unacceptable’ and that campus venues have a range of measures in place to prevent the abhorrent act.
They said: “The University and the Students’ Union have clear expectations about standards of behaviour among students and visitors to our campuses. Spiking is completely unacceptable. Anyone who drugs or assaults somebody else should face the full weight of the law.
“We have a range of measures in place to help protect students when attending venues on campus. These include bag and ID checks, security patrols inside and outside venues, and the provision of drinks protectors.
“If any student is subjected to spiking or assault, we would encourage them to speak to venue staff immediately, or to contact the University welfare team who can offer advice and support. We also urge anyone who has been the victim of or witness to a crime to contact the police.”
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