In the United Kingdom, a new criminal offense to combat chemical submission

Thanks to significant media coverage, the Mazan rape trial, which has been taking place since early September in Avignon, has brought to the forefront the debate on chemical submission in many countries around the world. Whether in a private setting, as this extraordinary legal case has revealed, or in a public place, such as bars or clubs, there is widespread awareness of this phenomenon of drugging someone. without his knowledge to abuse it.

The United Kingdom announced on Monday, November 25, the creation of a specific criminal offense to punish the act of pouring drugs into someone's drink or injecting them in the form of an injection.

In reality, “spiking”, as it is called in English, is a crime already punishable by up to ten years in prison, but until now it falls under several laws (repression of drugs, sexual assault), which complicates the work of the police and magistrates.

Training pub staff

“It can be incredibly difficult for victims to report these heinous crimes, and these cases are often very complicated to bring to justice”recognized the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, quoted in a press release.

The latter will bring together, on Monday, representatives of the police, nightlife and transport to ask them to coordinate against this “cowardly act”and to better protect women during nighttime outings. Around 10,000 people working in bars and pubs will also be trained by spring 2025 to learn how to spot the practice, help victims and gather evidence.

The creation of this offense must “encourage victims to come forward, and ensure a strong police response to these appalling crimes”declared the Minister of the Interior, Yvette Cooper.

The Labor government, which came to power in July, promised to halve violence against women and girls within ten years.

Between May 2022 and April 2023, the police received 6,732 reports of “spiking”, including almost a thousand cases linked to stings. But according to a YouGov survey from December 2022, 10% of British women and 5% of British men say they have already been victims. The majority of cases are not reported due to failure to identify the symptoms at the time. And since the body quickly flushes out these drugs, it becomes impossible to provide evidence.