The Victorian Government has announced it will introduce new drink spiking laws, making it a criminal offence to spike a person’s food or drink.
RMIT University last year released the results of research on the prevalence of drink spiking, which found a significant number of young people have had their drinks spiked. Psychologist Bridget McPherson and RMIT colleagues surveyed more than 800 people aged between 18 and 35.
The study found one quarter of participants reported being victims of drink spiking, with the majority of incidents occurring in licensed venues.
“Typically, the spiking took place when they left their drink unattended or accepted a drink without seeing how it was prepared,” Ms McPherson said.
“Despite such experiences, nearly 85 per cent of victims did not report the incident to authorities.”
The study also uncovered some of the motivations behind drink spiking, which could take the form of adding either alcoholic shots or drugs to beverages.
“Some of the perpetrators expressed the belief that deliberately causing intoxication in others was acceptable,” Ms McPherson said.
“Many participants who had spiked someone else’s drink were motivated by the belief they’d increase their chance of engaging in sexual activity.” Drink-spikers said it was “easier to approach people for sex if they’re drunk or drug-affected”.
Source: RMIT (AAP)