
Trigger warning: this article contains references to spiking and sexual assault.
Spiking is a serious illegal criminal offence which carries a sentence of up to ten years in prison. It has a devastating impact on victims.
It is your responsibility to keep everyone safe and not be the perpetrator.
When someone has been spiked, it is the person who spiked the drink who is responsible. The victim is never to blame.
Figures show that 1 in 10 students have experienced drink spiking nationally. We are producing this guidance to highlight that we all’have a role to play in keeping each other safe and to challenge any unacceptable or suspicious behaviour you may witness.
If you are worried that you have been the target of spiking or sexual assault, we will do everything we can to support you. There is more information below, or through our sexual misconduct and violence webpage. Your safety and wellbeing are the most important things and you can access specialist support, if and whenever you feel ready.
What is spiking?
Spiking are serious crimes of poisoning and is when someone puts alcohol or drugs into another person’s drink, or body (injected via a needle) without their knowledge and consent.A person can be spiked to make them more vulnerable for a variety of reasons, including theft or sexual assault.
Spiking is a serious criminal offence
Spiking is already a serious illegal criminal offence and carries a sentence of up to ten years in prison. If a robbery, sexual assault or other crime took place, the sentence may be even longer.And in 2025, spiking will become a new separate criminal offence with its own legislation. The government’s proposed new separate law will aim to increase reporting of spiking and pose a stronger deterrent to violence against women and girls. Staff in pubs, bars, and clubs will get special training in spotting and preventing incidents as part of a new pilot scheme, with a wider rollout to come.
What are the consequences of drink spiking?
The threat of spiking happening restricts the ability for students (predominantly, but not only women) to socialise - freely and without fear - as part of their student experience.It is never your fault if you have been spiked.
For the perpetrator, spiking carries a sentence of up to ten years in prison. If a robbery, sexual assault or other crime took place, the sentence may be even longer.
UCL will support students with the process of reporting incidents of spiking to the police and we will always take disciplinary action against any student found guilty of spiking.
What to look out for
- Being spiked can be a scary experience and it’s important to be able to recognise the signs your drink has been spiked or how to help someone you suspect has been a victim.
- Remember, any drink can be spiked, including soft drinks, juice, water or alcohol.
- A drink that has been spiked may not look, smell, or taste any different. Most drugs take effect within 15-30 minutes and symptoms will usually last for several hours
- Visually it is difficult to tell if a drink has been spiked. Substances used for spiking usually have no taste, odour or colour
Symptoms could include:
- Mental confusion or memory loss
- Hallucinations or paranoia
- Seizures
- An unusually long hangover or a severe hangover when you had little or no alcohol to drink.
- Disorientation/ visual problems
- Inability to communicate clearly
- Paranoia
- Poor coordination/ loss of balance
- Poor visibility
- Unconsciousness
- Loss of bladder control
- Nausea
- Vomiting
How to avoid drink spiking
We believe that you should be able to enjoy yourself without the fear of being spiked and condone any form of victim blaming - it is never your fault if your drink is spiked.Whilst venues and the Police should work together to create a safer environment for everyone, there are some practical things you can do to stay safe on nights out:
- Never leave your drink unattended.
- Don’t accept a drink from someone you don’t know or that hasn’t been prepared in front of you.
If you’re in a venue run by Student’s Union UCL, you can ask for help discreetly, with the ’ Ask for Angela ’ initiative where you ask for Angela at the bar and staff will understand that you are asking for help. Many venues are now part of the ’Ask for Angela’ initiative.
Our Students’ Union bars and many places across London have preventative drink stoppers/lids and test kits available in the bars and advertised in the venues - please do ask for these
Agree with your friends that you’ll let each other know when you get home safely. There are apps to help.
You can also become an Active Bystander with our training offered by the Students’ Union, helping you safely intervene if you witness problematic behaviour
Any drug can be used to spike someone, but the most commonly used drugs are:
- Alcohol - shots of alcohol can be added to drinks to make them stronger. This causes someone to get drunk much quicker than expected.
- Recreational drugs - recreational drugs such as Ecstasy, LSD Ketamine and other "party drugs" are sometimes used to spike alcoholic drinks.
- Rohypnol and GHB - these drugs, also known as "date rape drugs", are most commonly used by people who carry out spiking to rape or sexually assault someone. They can be odourless, colourless and tasteless. They are commonly used to commit physical and sexual assaults as they can sedate or incapacitate a victim, making them more vulnerable to attack.
What to do if you think you are a victim of spiking
- Tell somebody you trust
- If you are in a night life setting, tell a member of staff, bar manager, or door supervisor.
- If you’re in one of our bars, please seek help from bar staff immediately. You will be taken to a safe place for help, and this might also help us identify the person who has spiked your drink.
- If elsewhere, stay in a public area and try to find a safe space where a member of staff can help you
- Try not to drink any more
- Don’t go home alone or with somebody you don’t know
- You can ask a friend to take you straight home or, if you are seriously unwell, ask them to take you to the hospital
- If you are unsure if you need medical help, it’s better to be safe than sorry
We want to support you if you have been affected by this, and we have many ways of supporting you.
Talk to trusted advisors from our SWS team
It is completely up to you whether you would like to report an incident to the Police.
Some substances used for spiking can’t be detected after 72 hours or even 12 hours, so doing this as early as possible can help the police find out what has happened. If you would like to report the incident to the police, read about how you can do this. UCL will support you through this. We understand how difficult it can be to disclose an incident of sexual violence , and it may take a long time before you are able to seek support. There is no time limit on accessing support, either from UCL or from external services
You can also report this to the University via the report + support website. The UCL casework team and dignity advisers (who provide an informal, confidential information service to staff and students on issues relating to bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct) will provide support on how UCL can take the incident forward, in line with your preference.
UCL will support you
Discussing an incident can be daunting, however, we want you to know that your safety and wellbeing are our priority so we will be here to support you in a non-judgemental space, if you would like that support. You can:Call us anytime
If you would like to speak to someone about how you are feeling, you can call the Student Support and Wellbeing Phone Line on +44 (0)20 3108 8836 during office hours.For 24/7 support, you can call the UCL 24/7 Support Line on +44 (0)808 238 0077 and speak with an adviser. If you are calling from outside the UK, you should call 00 353 1 518 0277.
Come and talk to us in person - you will be met by a non-judgmental member of staff, in a safe and welcoming space
You can book a same-day online appointment with Student Support and Wellbeing Services using askUCL. (In-person appointments must be booked in advance).
You will be offered an appointment to discuss wellbeing support, whether you would like the incident to be investigated by the UCL Casework Team, and any support you may need to study such as academic adjustments. The process is student-led and we will speak with you before taking any steps.
This appointment is confidential and is available to all students. You can request that your adviser is a man, a woman or non-binary, and to have support in your own language (this may involve a slightly longer waiting time and it may involve referring you to a partner organisation outside of UCL SSW).
Staff across Student Support and Wellbeing Services, Crime Prevention and Personal Safety Advice and Casework are trained to handle sensitive disclosures, including sexual violence.
If you would like to access counselling, you can register with Counselling Services.
Support outside of UCL
We understand you may not want to discuss an incident with us and there are a lot of specialist organisations you can turn to outside of UCL.TASA is a youth-powered community that believes everyone deserves to have fun without fear. Their company is driven and run by the target audience; a group of analysts aged 18- 24 supported by a small number of advisers who are subject matter experts.
SARC , the Sexual assault referral centre, is a well known organisation that works alongside the NHS to offer confidential medical and practical support to people who have recently been raped or sexually assaulted.
Spike Aware UK is a charity that aims to build a movement to empower victims of drink and needle spiking crime.
Stamp Out Spiking tackles the increasing incidents of spiking across the UK and Worldwide. The charity was founded by a team, with professional experienced in alcohol and drug awareness workshops, concentrating on welfare of young people.
What is UCL doing about spiking?
Spiking incidents are serious crimes of poisoning which we take extremely seriously. They can be life-threatening and have lasting impacts on students who experience it and on their friends who witness it.UCL will support students with the process of reporting incidents of spiking to the police and we will always take disciplinary action against any student found guilty of spiking,
Our Students’ Union (SU) venues have a number of policies aimed at preventing harm, including spiking.
SU venue staff have received training on how to prevent spiking, and how to support people who are showing signs of being spiked.
Our SU bars and many places across London have preventative drink stoppers/lids and test kits available in the bars and advertised in the venues - please do ask for these.
Our SU venues also have the Gold accreditation in the Best Bar None scheme , the industry standard for safer socialising.
Our sector-leading Active Bystander Programme empowers students to recognise and challenge problematic behaviours, such as bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct both on and off-campus. The programme is part of our journey towards social and cultural change and compliments other initiatives across the Students’ Union and UCL, such as sexual harassment training provided for clubs and societies by the Union.
More than 50,000 students have been trained to safely intervene to stop bullying, harassment, racism and sexual misconduct - making it the largest programme of its kind in higher education.
- University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT (0) 20 7679 2000