The Egalitarian, a social enterprise and safe place project, has announced the launch of its latest campaign, Spiking Out, Justice In. This campaign is aimed at making spiking a criminal offence. Last year, the UK government refused to make it a crime. The Egalitarian had previously established Spike Report, a publicly viewable spiking incident database.
Spiking Out, Justice In was launched in March 2021, which correlated with the country’s spiking intensification week, to increase awareness about spiking and the need to make it a standalone criminal offence. This organization has trained venues, workplace and student unions nationwide and hopes to make spiking a punishable act.
Currently, spiking is covered under the sexual offences act and offences against the person act. The perpetrators can be identified and punished under these acts. However, the law does not clearly define spiking, making it difficult for the victims and law enforcers to understand the gravity of the crime. The Egalitarian seeks to change this situation to help victims report such crimes.
The organization has challenged Labour MP, Judith Cummings, to address the issue of spiking and committed to hold Labour accountable for this promise. The Egalitarian has invited all interested parties to complete surveys to help the project’s trajectory. At present, the group is focused on raising awareness and lobbying for the law to be changed.
The Egalitarian, as an anti-spiking activism organization, aims to ensure that spiking becomes a standalone criminal offence. Also, Spike Report is a vital tool for the victims of spiking to report an incident and raise awareness about the matters relating to reporting crimes. Victims have reported feeling helpless and stigmatized when attempting to report such incidents, resulting in inaction by the police. The Egalitarian aims to tackle these issues proactively and involve the community in their campaign by inviting their participation through surveys
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