Thousands of revellers boycott nightclubs for ‘girls night in’ protest after reports of drink spiking and injections
THOUSANDS of revellers are boycotting nightclubs and taking to the streets in protest over growing reports of drink spiking and injections.
Women backing the Girls Night In campaign avoided venues on Wednesday night as they demanded clubs and bars increase safety measures.
Cities popular with students including Nottingham, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds and Bournemouth have seen fewer numbers of youngsters in bars.
It comes amid a worrying rise in women reporting spiking incidents across the UK - with an alarming trend emerging of people being injected with drugs.
The campaign has been widely shared across social media with several Instagram pages cropping up dedicated to the cause for different areas.
They have gained thousands of followers ahead of the planned boycott on Wednesday - typically a popular evening for student nights.
Organisers have encouraged supporters to sign a petition that insists on making thorough searches of every clubber a legal requirement.
So far it has gathered almost 170,000 signatures.
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Campaigners also want clubs to enforce specialist training for bar staff, hand out covers for drinks and employ welfare officers to help revellers get home safely.
Thousands gathered in Manchester city centre in support of the boycott, holding signs reading "needles are for knitting" and "girls just wanna... be safe".
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Nighttime Economy Advisor Sacha Lord were also seen among the crowds.
Demonstrators said the march was "just the beginning" of their efforts to make going out safer.
One University of Manchester student said they will not give up "until sufficient action is taken and we can sleep at night, knowing we're safe to go out and have fun without risk of being spiked".
They also called for better transport options and improved street lighting.
Figures published on Wednesday revealed at least 56 reports of alleged injection incidents in bars have been made to UK police forces since the start of September.
Another 198 confirmed reports of drink spiking were recorded by forces in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
SERIES OF INCIDENTS
A string of Brits have shared terrifying stories of being pricked by a needle while out clubbing.
This has included one woman who found a needle mark after feeling "something sharp go into her shoulder" while out on a hen do.
Another teenager who believes she was injected with a drug while clubbing was "sick and disorientated" after the ordeal.
One student told how she started to vomit and almost collapsed on a night out before finding a pin prick on her hand and later had no recollection of the evening.
Sarah Buckle, 19, had been out on Freshers Week with pals when her hand started to throb and was later rushed to hospital.
She told of her "shock" and "disgust" at realising she had most likely been spiked with an injection as she partied with pals.
"I knew I had clearly been spiked but it would have never occurred to me it was via injection if my hand wasn't throbbing. I thought how? I never take a drink away from the bar.
"You think spiking is to do with your drink, you don't think something would go into your body."
"VERY CONCERNED"
Another 19-year-old University of Nottingham student shared an almost identical story about being spiked with an injection.
Zara Owen had been out with friends at Pryzm nightclub on October 11 and can only recall the moment she entered the club and went to the bar.
The teen believes she may have been spiked after she suffered complete memory loss and a pain in her leg which she believes may have been from being injected by a needle.
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Another woman was left writhing "like The Exorcist" after having her drink spiked while out with friends.
Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, earlier said he was "very concerned" about the flood of reports and called on the Home Office to work with the industry to tackle the problem.
