Young women boycott UK nightclubs over ‘spiking’ concerns

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Young women across the U.K. are boycotting nightclubs and pubs as university cities join in a national “girls night in” protest after increasing reports of drink spiking and students being drugged by needle injections. The campaign has gained momentum in university cities including Bristol, Brighton and Nottingham. It wants more urgent action by the government and nightclubs to prevent weapons and “date rape” drugs from being brought into nightclubs. The National Police Chiefs’ Council said there were 198 confirmed reports of drink spiking in September and October across the U.K., and 24 reports of people being injected while on a night out.