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A former art student who had to use a walking stick and lost the use of her hand for weeks after she believes she was spiked has said she still feels vulnerable going out, five years after the alleged incident.
Polly Sutherland, who was studying at Lancaster University, was 19 when her friends noticed she was behaving uncharacteristically during a night out at the university’s student union club, the Sugarhouse, in December 2016.
Speaking amid a sharp rise in spiking cases across the UK, the 24-year-old, who has type 1 diabetes, said being drugged destabilised her blood sugar levels, which can be potentially fatal for people with the condition. It also affected her mobility and the use of her drawing hand.
She does not remember anything suspicious happening, she said, but when her friends noticed her behaving erratically they took her home. The following morning she awoke with “bodily weakness and twitches in my arms, legs, all over really”.
“It’s scary to think what could have happened. I’m lucky that I had a lot of friends around me that took me home when they noticed something wasn’t right, so I’m very thankful for that, because I don’t know what purpose that person went out with,” she told PA Media.
“It made me feel very vulnerable. Even now, when I go on nights out, I’m very cautious of it now, and it’s in the back of my mind all the time.”
She said doctors and the students’ union did not take her complaints about the incident seriously.
“When I went to [my GP] they weren’t very helpful,” she said. “I remember feeling really disappointed, because I went to them saying: ‘From what’s going on, I think I’ve been spiked’.
“They almost raised their eyebrows, almost accusing me of taking drugs, and I was trying to get out of it somehow or making excuses. I felt very let down by the doctors at that point.”
She said she reported the incident to the union but did not receive an adequate response.
Unable to paint or draw after the alleged incident, she had to apply for deadline extensions in the final year of her art degree.
Now a second-year politics student at Keele University, Sutherland has joined the Girls Night In movement, which organised a nationwide boycott of nightclubs on Wednesday night, but she said she does not like that it still puts the onus on women.
“I think the fact that we are the ones that have to stay in because this is happening is putting it on us – it’s our responsibility to make sure we don’t get spiked, instead of telling people not to spike people.”
She said clubs should use CCTV and scan ID cards rather than simply checking them, to keep a record of who was at each night.
A spokesperson for Lancaster University students’ union said: “We have thoroughly investigated our records for this period and we can find no report of this incident. If the student concerned contacts us with further information we will, of course, look into the matter. All other reports of incidents at that time were thoroughly investigated and appropriate action was taken.
“Anyone found spiking would be reported to the police, reported to the university deanery and banned from the Sugarhouse for life. All victims of spiking are given immediate first aid by dedicated welfare staff and taken to hospital if needed or if they request it.”
Lancaster University said: “We pride ourselves on Lancaster being a safe place to study and are distressed to hear about any of our students being assaulted in this way. The Sugarhouse is owned and managed by Lancaster University students’ union, and we cannot comment on individual incidents.
“However, if any of our students have safety concerns in relation to spiking, or any other kind of assaults, then we would strongly encourage them to report them to the university and we have created a range of ways to enable our students to do so. We would also encourage students to report any such incidents to the police.”
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