A man who was raped after having alcohol spiked in his drink during a night out claimed police told him “but you’re a guy” when he reported the attack.
Stephen Hart today relived his ordeal which led to him testing positive for HIV, as figures show up to seven in ten young people have experienced or witnessed spikes.
Stephen, from London, who is now an ambassador for the charity Stamp Out Spiking, told Good Morning Britain how his drink was laced with rohypnol while he was out with a friend in 2006.
He lost consciousness and when he woke up he found himself covered in blood.
When he reported the attack to the police, he was shocked to hear an officer respond dismissively: “But you’re a guy.”
Reports of incidents of excessive drinking continue to cast a shadow over nightlife in Britain, but a worrying trend is emerging: men are increasingly becoming victims of this insidious crime.
One of the victims who reported a harrowing sexual assault after having alcohol spiked in his drink is Stephen Hart, who detailed how police did not take him seriously after the attack.
Rohypnol is often used by predators for “date rape” purposes, as it is a benzodiazepine designed to treat insomnia, which in turn can cause extreme sleepiness or “blackouts.”
Today, Stephen bravely detailed the night he was the victim of excessive alcohol consumption and subsequent sexual assault.
He explained that he had visited a bar in north London on the night he was attacked and, after his friend left early to meet his girlfriend, he stayed behind to finish his drink.
However, Stephen described how he suddenly felt dizzy and confused in the bar, knowing he needed help but unable to speak concisely.
He was then “awakened by the sun shining” through his apartment window the next morning.
He told GMB: ‘I got up to take a shower because I felt really chilled, I felt sick, I felt like my head was very, very foggy.
‘I had blood on my jeans and I knew something bad had happened. It turned out that I had been raped.”
Detailing his experience with the police while reporting the incident, Stephen said: “One of them just frowned and said, ‘But you’re a bloke.'”
After Stephen discovered that he had contracted HIV, he was and must take lamivudine, an antiretroviral drug that reduces the amount of HIV in the body.
Stephen later discovered that he had contracted HIV and must now take lamivudine, an antiretroviral drug that reduces the amount of HIV in the body.
Although almost two decades have passed since Stephen’s assault, the person responsible for the attack has never been found.
The government describes jabbing as an “insidious and predatory act” and is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but despite harsh penalties and intense awareness campaigns, it continues to affect large numbers of revelers.
Attack victims are often attacked in places such as nightclubs, bars, house parties, work events, and festivals.
Data on spikes doesn’t really reveal how common the practice is because many victims don’t report it to police, who recently began tracking the numbers.
Between 2022 and 2023, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) recorded 6,732 sticking incidents reported to the police, 4,643 of which were administered by drink, 957 by needle and the remainder by unspecified means.
However, the actual figures are believed to be much higher.
A YouGov poll found that 11 per cent of women and 6 per cent of men said they had been jabbed.
TO report conducted by Ladbible Group and Stamp Out Spiking suggests that seven in ten young people have experienced or witnessed it; However, most victims choose not to report it to the police.
Confusion, hallucinations and sudden paranoia are among the signs that a person has had a drink spiked.
A YouGov poll found that 11 per cent of women and 6 per cent of men said they had been jabbed.
MP Laura Farris, Minister for Victims and Protection, said in a statement: ‘We are modernizing the legislation. We are introducing a series of wider measures, including updating legal guidance, to better support victims and bring perpetrators to justice.
“We strongly encourage anyone who believes they or someone around them has been drugged to contact police as soon as possible so that a urine sample can be taken for testing.”
It comes as celebrities, students and young people have shared terrifying experiences of having alcohol spiked or injected, as it was revealed there were 5,000 incident reports to police in the 12 months to November 2022.
In December, the Home Office announced and set out a series of practical measures it is taking to protect people and crack down on attackers.
This included staff at venues that attract drinkers receiving training on how to spot them and greater investment in drinking testing.
In October, a teacher called for better identity checks at nightclubs after she was given an injection that caused her to collapse and repeatedly vomit.
Investigators, lawyers and activists say the crime is underreported and poorly investigated.
Victims are apparently moved between departments and services for a few hours until the drugs leave their system and there is no evidence left.
Channel 4 sent a freedom of information request to all 43 UK police forces asking for statistics on how many spike incidents reported to them resulted in charges.
Thirty-nine of the forces handed over their figures, which revealed that 0.25 per cent of assault incidents reported to police had led to charges.