Spiking: Women scared to go out amid rise in cases, MP says

MP Anna McMorrin said making misogyny a hate crime would begin to "change the culture"

Women and girls are "terrified" to go out due to "sinister" means being used to try to attack them, an MP has said.

Anna McMorrin, Labour's shadow minister for victims and youth justice, spoke out following reports of women being injected and having drinks spiked.

She is calling for more to be done to protect people going to bars and clubs.

The Night Time Industry Association (NTIA) said venues were working with police and councils on "safeguarding customers, particularly women".

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"I think we all know someone who knows someone who has had their drink spiked," Ms McMorrin, the Cardiff North MP, told BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement programme.

"But now this seems to be getting to a more sinister level where women and girls are at risk of being injected with a noxious substance.

"And the really, really sinister thing is, we know that the intent is to do harm, is to rape.

"So I think that we know that women and girls are terrified."

Robert Buckland MP said action should target attackers rather than put the onus on women and girls to look after their own safety

Home Secretary Priti Patel has asked police forces for an update following a number of cases of women reporting being spiked by needles in nightclubs.

A boycott of clubs is being planned in some cities, including Cardiff, on 29 October.

Ms McMorrin said her eldest daughter, who is a university student, told her she and friends were taking extra precautions as they were "scared to go out at night".

"Dealing with the perpetrators, that is the issue, and that is doing things like making misogyny a hate crime - that begins to change the culture," said the MP.

How to help a friend who you think has been spiked

Drinkaware has some advice on what to do if you think a friend you're out with has been spiked:

• Stay with them and keep talking to them

• Call an ambulance if their condition deteriorates

• Don't let them go home on their own

• Don't let them leave the venue with someone you don't know or trust

• Try to prevent them drinking more alcohol as this could lead to more serious problems

• Encourage them to get urine and blood tests within 72 hours

Former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland MP also said action needed to target attackers rather than putting the onus on women and girls to look after their own safety.

"To say women should stay safe, and in effect stay at home, is absolutely the wrong approach," said the Conservative MP for South Swindon.

"That's why I've always emphasised the need for us to directly address the reasons for perpetration of these offences and the perpetrators themselves."

NTIA chief executive officer Michael Kill said venue operators had introduced measures in some regions including protecting drinks through barrier mechanisms, swab-testing drinks for contamination and searching people.