One in ten women say they have had their drink spiked

Four in 10 Britons say they do not think the police would believe them if they reported a drink spiking

As Britons get set to hit the bars, pubs and clubs to see in the new year, YouGov figures have revealed the extent to which people say they have ever had their drink spiked.

Drink spiking is the adding of alcohol or drugs to another person’s drink without their knowledge or permission. The aim may be to incapacitate someone enough to rob or sexually assault them.

A new YouGov survey shows that 10% of women say they have personally had a drink spiked. Meanwhile, 8% say someone in their family has had a drink spiked, while 10% say a friend has had a drink spiked. One in seven women (14%) say someone else they know has been a victim of spiking. In total, 35% of women say they have either had a drink spiked themselves or know someone who has, or both.

Among men, 5% say they have had a drink spiked, while 7% say members of their family have had their drink spiked. One in eight men (12%) say a friend of theirs has had their drink spiked and a further 11% say someone else they know has had a drink spiked. More than a quarter of men overall (28%) say they know someone who has had a drink spiked or have experienced it themselves.

Nearly half of those aged between 18 and 24 (48%) say they have had a drink spiked or know someone who has. However, it is those aged between 25 and 49 who are the most likely to say they have personally had a drink spiked (11%).

How confident do people feel that reports of drink spiking would be taken seriously?

When it comes to how confident Britons are that police would believe them if they reported having their drink spiked, they are split over the issue. Four in ten Britons (40%) are very or fairly confident the police would believe them, but this includes only 8% who say they are “very confident” they would be taken seriously. Equally, 40% are not very or at all confident the police would believe them, including 15% who are “not confident at all”.

Britons also have little faith that a venue would believe them if they told them they had a drink spiked there. Only 29% are confident that a venue would take them seriously if they had a drink spiked there compared to 42% who are not very or at all confident a venue would believe a report of drink spiking under its roof.

There is, however, more faith among the British public that friends and family would take an incidence of drink spiking seriously. Eight in ten Britons (80%) are confident that both their friends and their family would believe them if they told them their drink had been spiked. Half (51%) are “very confident” their family would believe them and 44% say the same about their friends.

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