{"id":63757,"date":"2024-05-02T11:45:39","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T10:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?p=63757"},"modified":"2024-05-03T14:13:22","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T13:13:22","slug":"spiking-rife-among-students-with-more-than-1-in-10-falling-victim-to-the-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/05\/02\/spiking-rife-among-students-with-more-than-1-in-10-falling-victim-to-the-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"Spiking rife among students, with more than one in 10 falling victim to the crime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Four fifths of drink spiking victims are university students according to shocking new police data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statistics revealed 81% of recorded victims<\/a> were students, while a survey by university news site, The Tab, showed 11% of students<\/a> believed they had been spiked.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victims of the crime say it has affected their ability to socialise and their time at university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emeli Hanson, 22, who was spiked in her first year at the University of Bristol, said: \u201cI just felt violated. The fact that something’s inside of your body as well that you haven’t chosen to be there just makes you feel completely out of control over something that’s entirely yours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A survey by the Alcohol Education Trust suggested more than 1 in 10 students<\/a> have been victims of spiking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The offence isn’t just happening in bars and clubs, it can also occur in \u2018more secure\u2019 environments. Emeli, from Lincolnshire, was spiked during a house party in October 2021 during her second year at Bristol University, where she was studying Politics and Philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last thing Emeli remembers is leaving the party with a friend who explained when she got to their house, “her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she was vomiting up a black substance\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emeli, who was taken to A&E by her friends, said: \u201cOnce I came around, I couldn\u2019t feel anything past my hips and in the lower half of my body, which is obviously extremely scary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t use my bladder or wee because that was causing extreme pain. They ended up having to catheterise me to get fluid out because they were worried about my bladder bursting.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spiking can cause confusion, nausea, vomiting, disorientation and memory loss, but the psychological symptoms can often outweigh the physical symptoms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emeli, who is currently studying International Development at the University of Sheffield, said: \u201cIt was before the outbreak of spiking at UK universities, so they weren\u2019t testing for it in the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI won\u2019t ever know what substance was inside my body which took a lot of coming around to. That\u2019s something that I had to let go of, where I was already in a situation where I already didn\u2019t have control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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