Response to: The Home Affairs Committee Spiking Report
By Ali Morris, FiLiA VAWG Lead for Wales
FiLiA is pleased to receive the Home Office Affairs Committee’s eagerly awaited Report on Spiking and welcomes the Report findings that validate the experiences of so many women. We applaud the detailed research findings and the recommendations that come with it.
It is no surprise that the Committee found that a lack of available data made it difficult to obtain a clear picture of the true extent of spiking, and therefore the experiences of women. This clearly shows the unwillingness and dismissiveness to date by organisations such as the police to take this issue seriously.
We are particularly pleased that the Report has been written with an understanding of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and takes this into account throughout. Our own work has highlighted the unacceptable levels of spiking that women experience on a night out, so we welcome the Reports’ finding that confirms women experience the vast majority of spiking incidences. When women are spiked, it is likely to be with malicious intent and they are then more vulnerable to sexual assault. It is on this point that we do not agree with the Report’s statement that “It is currently unclear what intentions offenders have beyond committing the act”. Women tell us otherwise. Even though there is lack of intelligence on offenders, primarily due to the woeful lack of convictions, we can confidently say that men are the current identified offenders. This is a clear VAWG issue that needs to be addressed urgently.
We are pleased to see the Report’s wide focus on all aspects of this issue, from venue safety and training through to awareness raising, victim support and police response. We welcome the Committee’s clear statement that the focus must be on the perpetrators of this offence and not on the actions of the victims. This victim blaming has for too long stopped women contacting the police and reaching out for support. When trust in the police is at an all time low, women need to know they will be believed. We agree with the statement from the Committee’s Chair, Dame Diana Johnson who said “The message needs to be sent to perpetrators that spiking is absolutely unacceptable and will be punished”. We will hold her to this.
The Report finds that attitudes would change and a shift in culture would take place if there was a specific criminal offence of ‘spiking’. Currently, the very small number of convictions have been brought using offences such as GBH. The Committee believes that a new offence would highlight the seriousness of the issue and deter perpetrators. FiLiA supports any criminal justice intervention that will keep women safe and deter perpetrators, but the non-existent convictions around rape and sexual assault shows us that having a specific law does not always offer women and girls protection. We would want to see oversight and scrutiny embedded into any process to ensure that this new law would enhance the safety of women and aid convictions.
We are pleased to see that the issue of forensic testing and evidence was highlighted as a concern. We hear from too many women that they are unable to obtain urine or blood tests and do not know how to go about getting this done. The Committee found that this is indeed the case. The Committee calls for a focussed response to investigation and easily accessible, high quality forensic testing. Whereas FiLiA agrees with this, we do not agree as suggested that this should primarily lie with the police. Many women access hospital or medical treatment as a first option, and it is unacceptable that they are refused testing options at this stage when substances would usually still be in their systems. Testing at this stage would aid investigation and conviction. With women’s trust in the police at an all time low, approaching the police for testing is an option many women will not take. Research indicates that over 90% of victims do not report, so forcing victims to approach the police is not the right step. We believe easily accessible, high quality forensic testing should be available where women naturally go for support.
We acknowledge a lot of work has been put into producing this Report and as a whole we agree with the strong message given that spiking is a serious issue that will not be tolerated.
We support the key recommendations of the Report encompassing the legal framework, prevention, support and investigation. We look forward to seeing the proposed National Strategy on Spiking which will ensure a consistent approach across the country and give victims the support they need and ensure perpetrator accountability.
We urge the Home Office to consider the Report’s recommendations to create an environment of safety and support for women and send a strong message to perpetrators that they will be caught, investigated and punished.
As part of the FiLiA Legacy Project, we are pleased to be working with a broad group of experts to raise awareness of the issue, and to push for the implementation of the report’s recommendations.