Today, Kingston and St Mary’s university students are joining in on a national nightclub boycott to stand against the spiking epidemic.
The Girls’ Night In campaign is to stay in and refuse bars and nightclubs of any custom to gain acknowledgement of how frequent spiking is, making many individuals feel unsafe in these environments.
Today, Pryzm in Kingston, along with other leading bars will be quiet as the university’s sport teams and students stay in to support the boycott.
An Instagram account @girlsnightin_kingston has been set up to preach the importance of the boycott, sharing information and question polls to hear others’ stories.
The owner of the account, 22, said: “The importance of Girls’ Night In is making a stand for girls’ safety when going out.
“As a girl myself I don’t feel safe going out, so this is to make a stand against clubs to take our safety seriously.”
The campaign has been put together nationally after recognising a series of concerning experiences regarding girls being spiked via drink or injection in clubs and bars.
To support the movement, the Kingston netball team will be staying at home like many others including surrounding universities, such as St Mary’s in Twickenham.
Many of St Mary’s sport instagram pages have dedicated a post to spread the awareness.
St Mary’s RUFC president Charlie, 21, said: “Most people at the club have a female relative, I personally would hate to think of something happening to them.
“Everyone should feel safe and enjoy themselves on a night out.
“There will be no socials from any sport club at our university.
“It shows solidarity with various other clubs, many of whom have a largely female membership.”
The university has closed their student union bar for the evening and instead converted it into a film night.
Pryzm is renowned for Student Therapy Wednesdays and claims itself to be Surrey’s biggest student night.
The Rugby Club hosts a social event on Wednesdays where they go to Wetherspoons and Pryzm, this has been postponed this week to support the boycott.
On instagram, @pryzmkingston has posted a Anti Drink Spiking post:
The post informs its followers of procedures the nightclub takes to ensure that everyone feels safe while in their facilities.
They have since installed a banner on entry titled WE CARE informing guests of their policies, which include free water, taxi escorts, phone charging and thorough bag searches.
Like many other licenced premises, the nightclub has also trained their staff to understand Ask for Angela, which is a coded phrase for when individuals are feeling vulnerable.
While there are measures like this in place, it is apparent it is not enough as people are still feeling unsafe while going out.
By having Girls’ Night In as a national campaign, many individuals are hoping to see a change in how nightclubs operate for the foreseeable future.
