Launceston’s Tabitha Dempsey is starting a social media campaign warning of the dangers of spiked drinks. Here, she talks to EMILY BAKER about the issue in the hope of reducing the risk for others.
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THE state’s sexual assault support services say drink spiking is a common occurrence but vastly under-reported.
She said four of her friends have had their drinks spiked this year.
The South’s Sexual Assault Support Service and Launceston’s Laurel House said clients regularly reported that they suspected their drink had been spiked.
Sexual Assault Support Service chief executive Jill Maxwell said victims did not report incidents for fear they would not be believed.
‘‘It’s certainly becoming a common occurrence,’’ Ms Maxwell said.
‘‘In 2002-03 there were 4000 suspected incidents of drink spiking and obviously it would be much more prevalent now.’’
Laurel House senior counsellor educator Rachel (name withheld) said it was common that people were unsure if they had been affected by alcohol or had been affected by something more sinister.
‘‘It’s something that comes up fairly regularly.
‘‘People may come here wondering if their drink has been spiked in some way but they’re not sure,’’ she said.
‘‘Some of the stories that I’ve heard are extremely frightening.
‘‘It’s not just the stereotypical teenager out drinking too much, but there are older, more experienced people who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.’’
The Australian Crime Commission defined drink spiking as ‘‘drugs or alcohol being added to a drink (alcoholic or nonalcoholic) without the consent of the person consuming it’’.
Launceston uniform Acting Inspector Dean McMahon said such incidents were rarely reported to authorities.
‘‘According to us it’s not much of a problem,’’ he said.
‘‘There’s probably a lot of cases where it happens but isn’t referred to us.
‘‘Report things to police if you feel you’re subjected to any form of drink spiking.’’
Laurel House North and North-West Tasmania Sexual Assault Support Services can be contacted on 6334 2740 (North) or 6431 9711 (North-West).
