Fears for safety of Cork students after reports of drink spiking

CONCERNS about drink spiking have been raised by UCC Students Union, who say that in recent days they have helped five students who believe their drinks were spiked.

“The five incidents were spread over the last week,” Maeve Richardson, Communications and Engagement Officer for UCC Students Union, told The Echo.

“They were all women in this case, but we have had men presenting in the past.

“They were out in the past week in Cork city centre.” Ms Richardson said some of the students were left shaken after the incidents.

“It is absolutely heartbreaking,” she said. “They come to us and we try and advise them to receive medical treatment, go to counselling and try to approach the gardaí.

“Some of them see these processes as futile and sadly feel they will get nothing out of them.

“Thankfully most of them had vigilant friends. They were able to go to nightclubs and given water. Some of them were not okay for two or three days. They were very shaken and quite sick,” she said.

“There have been no long-term effects. However, mentally they feel unsafe going outside now. All of these young women told us they do their best on nights out, they cover their drinks, they stay in groups and yet these things still happen to them.”

Ms Richardson praised both the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit and the Cork Sexual Violence Centre for their support of young people.

She said the issue of spiking has been happening to both men and women for years and she has urged people to be more sympathetic.

“When people put their stories out there, they sometimes get people who say they were drinking too much or they should have had some cop-on,” she said.

“People should be more sympathetic to these cases, as it can happen to anyone.

“It happens to both young men and women.

“It has been an issue for years, but I think more people are being vocal about it now,” she said.

“If it does happen, come to us.

“We are there to support any student who has been affected by this.

SUPPORTS

“Great supports in the city have been the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit, which is led by Margo Noonan, and the Sexual Violence Centre Cork, led by Mary Crilly, who have been absolutely brilliant for young people affected by this,” she added.

“It is a shame that a return to nightlife also meant a return to this behaviour,” said Ms Richardson.

She urged people to stay vigilant and to be aware of the signs.

“You can look out for excessive bubbling in your drink or the colour of your drink changing slightly,” she said.

“Stay vigilant, stay in groups, watch your drinks, and look at the people around you.

“Make sure you stay away from people you think could cause you harm.”

Ms Richardson said that spiking was done for a variety of different motives. “People are spiking for many reasons, to cause bodily harm, to cause sexual assault, to rob someone, or as a cruel prank,” she said.

“It takes the effect of someone appearing very drunk.

“They start passing out, get nauseous, and vomit.

“This kind of behaviour starts with disrespect for people in general,” she said.

In November, hundreds of people attend a UCC protest raising awareness about spiking.

Following reports of needle spiking incidents in other parts of the country late last year, gardaí urged anyone who has been a victim of any type of drink-spiking incident to come forward.

“An Garda Síochána would advise any victims of similar incidents or any form of drug spiking to come forward and report such incidents to local gardaí,” a spokesperson said at the time.