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An alarming phenomenon in the UK: Women are stabbed in clubs with needles with a rape drug
Women in the kingdom have said they have lost consciousness and found themselves in a hospital, and a petition signed by 150,000 people is demanding that the government allow customers to be checked in at places of entertainment.
"Prefer a physical examination than a needle in the back"
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UK
women
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Monday, October 25, 2021, 4:15 p.m.
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"I drank too much in the past, and it was completely different."
Sarah Buckle (second from left) and her friends at the club (Photo: courtesy of those photographed)
Authorities in the UK are following with concern the growing number of women being stabbed with needles by rape drugs, especially in nightclubs in cities with a large student population. Due to the series of incidents, many women in the UK are afraid to go out to places of entertainment and 150,000 people have signed a petition asking the UK government to allow searches on customers in clubs and bars. The highest number of signatures came from Nottingham, which has a large student population.
Hannah Thompson, 24, initiated the petition after hearing about the stories of women from Edinburgh, Scotland, who had needles inserted with "rape drugs" and other similar stories across the UK. Thompson suggested placing metal detectors at club entrances or conducting physical searches on passers-by, similar to airport security.
"I'd rather have a physical examination than a needle in the back," the young woman told the BBC.
Organizations at more than 30 UK universities have joined an online campaign calling for the boycott of clubs until "tangible" changes are made that will make them safer for women, such as staff training.
Sarah Buckle, a 19-year-old student at the University of Nottingham, was among the victims who spoke to the BBC.
"One moment I was talking okay, and suddenly I couldn't get words out of my mouth," she said of that evening, which was about a month ago.
She said she then woke up in a hospital and she noticed a stab in her sore hand.
"I feel outraged," she told the BBC.
"I drank too much in the past, and it was completely different."
More on the subject
UK: Life imprisonment for police officer who abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard
"One moment I was talking okay, and suddenly I couldn't get words out of my mouth."
Sarah's stabbed hand (Photo: courtesy of those photographed)
The BBC reported that Interior Minister Priti Patel had asked the police to give her an update on the phenomenon of needle pricks.
In addition, Member of Parliament Nadia Vitom from Labor urged the Conservative government to take action on the issue.
"We need to be careful that this conversation does not turn into a conversation about what women can do and place the responsibility on women," she told the BBC.
"Women need to be able to go out freely and have fun without fear of assault - sexual or otherwise - and that's part of a much bigger problem of male violence, from sexual harassment to rape."
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