'Being spiked has stopped me from going out again'

Mia says being spiked "had a very big impact" and she doesn't "go out anymore"

The evening of 17 January 2020 was supposed to be a normal Friday night out for Mia Doshi Prichard, not a life-changing one.

It should have been drinking, dancing and fun with friends. Instead, she had her drink spiked.

Over two years on, she no longer goes on nights out.

A report by the Home Affairs Committee - a group of MPs - has found being spiked can have long-term consequences, with "lasting repercussions on victims' lives".

Mia agrees with the findings of the report.

"In the months after, I had panic attacks when I went out," the 21-year-old tearfully tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

"I'm always so paranoid and in the back of my mind is 'something is going to happen.'"

Spiking is defined as having drugs or alcohol put in a drink without consent, or being secretly injected, with anecdotal evidence suggesting it's "widespread and dangerous".

'Kept having episodes'

Mia, who is from Leicester but studies in York, recalls having the same amount to drink that night as her friends but being the only one who felt "disorientated".

"I had left it [the glass] and turned around for a minute to dance with some friends. I kick myself which is ridiculous."

She can only remember bits and pieces from that night, things like "collapsing outside a bathroom" and "holding onto a banister" to stand up - nothing that she'd experienced before.

Mia was told by the police there wasn't enough evidence to take action

Mia believes being spiked "can upset people psychologically for a very long time".

Since that night, she has attempted to go out with friends again, but has found it too difficult.

"For a while I'd get into that state [of having panic attacks] and would get upset even more because I was ruining the experience of my friends by getting so worked up."

'I'll never accept a drink from a stranger again'

Saskia Boissevain was left "really shaken and feeling pretty vulnerable for quite a long time", and is now a lot more cautious around strangers.

She describes having "completely and utterly lost all memory" after being spiked in September 2021.

• Read more about the MPs report findings here

• What's being done to stop drink spiking?

• How likely are you to get spiked by injection?

The 30-year-old, from London, was out with a friend, and after having a drink offered to the pair by two men, she was "falling all over the place".

"The next morning, I came round and I was lying on the bathroom floor alone in my flat, and had absolutely no memory of anything other than walking to the bar. And having that drink."

Saskia says she had no idea what to do when she was spiked, and wishes she had a blood test within 48 hours for police evidence

Saskia is now more conscious of the people around where her drinks are.

"It's not necessarily fear but I'm certainly more cautious and would never accept a drink from anyone I didn't know again."

She also limits how much she drinks depending on "where I am and who I'm with".

"I feel more comfortable if I'm out with my fiancé, which feels wrong to say. I definitely wouldn't drink too much if I was out with just one or two other girlfriends."

'Losing trust and faith'

Niamh Donnelly was at someone's house with friends a month ago, gearing up for a night out, when she says she was spiked.

"I ended up essentially unconscious outside my house. People on the street had to help me get into my house, it's difficult to process."

She was so shaken by what had happened, she went from university in Nottingham, back home to Birmingham, where she's stayed ever since.

Since then, Niamh, 21, says she feels "really weird" about going out, having lost "trust and faith" in people she thought would keep her safe.

"As a woman it's so important for you and your friends to go out and feel safe, and people around you to make sure you are.

"Going out, it is dangerous. And I think that's something that really hit me hard after that happened."

She now has second thoughts about going out ever again in Nottingham.

"It's definitely made me hyper aware and I'm not going to be sharing my drinks with anyone.

"I'm going to be watching myself and the people around me very closely, more than I would have before," she adds.

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