UK - Reports of ‘needle spiking’ in Britain drive young women, students to boycott bars, Oct. 2021

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Oct 28 2021
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/10/28/britain-needle-spiking-bar-boycott/
''LONDON — Women are boycotting bars and clubs this week in cities across Britain, where college students have grown alarmed at reports of peers getting spiked with needles on nights out.

The students leading the Night In protest want better training for nightlife staff to help keep people safe from “needle spiking,” where someone is injected with drugs without their knowledge, often in a nightclub or party, as well as the more common crime of contaminating drinks.

“We want to show solidarity with each other,” said Sarah Buckle, who was told by medics they suspected she was pricked by a needle at a club last month but worries evidence gathering started too late to confirm whether she was injected, or had her drink spiked.''

 

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A TikTok user’s video showing a pin prick mark on her leg surrounded by bruising has been viewed millions of times. Picture: TikTok/@isabelladortax
‘Is this real? Is this actually happening in England right now?’ Picture:''

British student Ilana El-baz was left unable to move following an alleged spiking by injection incident. Picture: Facebook

Her boyfriend filmed her on the stairs at home, her eyes rolling and ‘completely paralysed’. Picture: Facebook

Women are being ‘spiked by a needle’ in a worrying epidemic sweeping UK
''An alarming number of women are reporting being “spiked by a needle” in a worrying epidemic sweeping the UK.

British police have received hundreds of reports of drink-spiking in the past two months with many more appearing on social media as women bravely share their stories to warn others.

Many of the alleged attacks involve terrifying accounts of women being pricked by a needle while at a bar or nightclub and quickly being left in “paralysed” states.

As a result, British Home Secretary Priti Patel has ordered an urgent update from police on the spiking “epidemic”, The Sun reports.

Student Ilana El-baz, 20, shared shocking footage of herself “completely paralysed” after allegedly being spiked during a night out in Bristol, south west England, with friends three weeks ago.

The clip shows her slumped on a staircase as she struggled to climb the steps, her head leaning on the railings as her eyes roll backwards.''

''Almost 200 drink spiking incidents have been reported to police forces across the UK over the past two months, the UK’s National Police Chiefs’ Council said on Friday.

The NPCC said there have been 198 confirmed reports of drink spiking in September and October across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus 24 reports of some form of injection, with the policing body stating the majority of cases involved young women at licensed premises and at private parties, The Guardian reported.''

 

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June 2 2022

Nightclub needle attacks puzzle European authorities

Across France, more than 300 people have reported being pricked out of the blue with needles at nightclubs or concerts in recent months.

www.cp24.com

''PARIS (AP) — Across France, more than 300 people have reported being pricked out of the blue with needles at nightclubs or concerts in recent months. Doctors and multiple prosecutors are on the case, but no one knows who’s doing it or why, and whether the victims have been injected with drugs — or indeed any substance at all.

Club owners and police are trying to raise awareness, and a rapper even interrupted his recent show to warn concert-goers about the risk of surprise needle attacks.

It's not just France: Britain’s government is studying a spate of “needle spiking” there, and police in Belgium and the Netherlands are investigating scattered cases too.


On May 4, 18-year-old Tomas Laux attended a rap concert in Lille in northern France, where he smoked a bit of marijuana and drank some alcohol during the show. When he came home, he told The Associated Press, he was feeling dizzy and had a headache – and he spotted a strange little skin puncture on his arm and a bruise.

The next morning, the symptoms didn’t disappear and Laux went to his doctor, who advised him to go to the emergency room. Medics confirmed evidence of a needle prick, and Laux was tested for HIV and hepatitis. His results came out negative, like other victims' so far.

“I've given up going to concerts since it happened," Laux said.

Hundreds of kilometers (miles) away, Leanne Desnos recounted a similar experience after going to a club in the southwest city of Bordeaux in April. Desnos, also 18, passed out the next day, and felt dizzy and had hot flashes while at a fast food restaurant. When she got home, she realized she had an injection mark on her arm. After having seen testimony on social media about the mystery pricks, she went to a clinic to get tested for infections. She is still awaiting results.

People from Paris, Toulouse, Nantes, Nancy, Rennes, and other cities around France have reported being pricked with a needle without their knowledge or permission. The targeted individuals, who are mostly women, show visible marks of injection, often bruises, and report symptoms like feeling groggy.''