In a Westminster Hall debate, Yasmin Qureshi MP, Labour’s Shadow Women and Equalities Minister, called on the Government to categorise spiking as an individual criminal offence to protect women and girls from predators.  Speaking in the debate, Ms. Qureshi said that “spiking is not being taken anywhere near seriously enough by the Government,” adding that “the safety of our women and girls must be a priority for all Governments.”

In Greater Manchester, since September 2021 there has been a significant jump in the number of spiking incidents, and in the same period, throughout the country, there were almost 5,000 cases, according to the NPCC.

According to a report from the Home Affairs Select Committee, published in April 2022, survey results found that 72% of all spiking victims are unwilling to report the incident, and 84% of victims said that they did not receive support after the first time they were spiked.

Earlier this week, Ms. Qureshi wrote to licensed institutions throughout her constituency of Bolton South East, imploring them to carry out Ask For Angela training and pushing them to contribute to any future Government consultation on spiking.

Speaking after the debate, Ms. Qureshi said:

“Whilst spiking affects both men and women, it disproportionately impacts women and girls.  Categorising this as a separate crime will go a long way to understanding the true scale of this crime and will help the Police to implement real, evidence-based strategies to address this epidemic.”

“We need to see the Government listening to victims and stakeholders and acting quickly, rather than obfuscating and dancing around the matter.  Local Councils, police forces, and licensed institutions need to be given a framework through which to adequately deal with this crisis.”

Notes to Editors:

• Spiking figures to September 2022: NPCC, Potential victims of spiking urged to report to police and get tested quickly as nearly 5,000 reports of spiking are made within a year, 29 December 2022
• Spiking survey results, Home Affairs Select Committee: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmhaff/967/report.html#heading-5
• Home Affairs Select Committee, report on spiking: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1696/spiking/publications/