Hansard

The Convener Con

Agenda item 4 is an evidence session on drink and needle spiking. Joining us today for a round-table discussion are Jill Stevenson, dean of diversity and inc...

Superintendent Hilary Sloan (Police Scotland)

As you said, convener, there was a significant increase in the reporting of spiking incidents in mid-October, which coincided with public concern in relation...

The Convener Con

What is your assessment of what caused the uptick over the Halloween period? Was that in a specific geographical area or was it at a set of events?

Superintendent Sloan

The three primary areas where the incidents have been most prevalent are the student cities—Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh—and they usually coincide with th...

Professor Sally Mapstone (Universities Scotland)

I agree with Hilary Sloan. There is still a lot of work to do to gauge the extent and prevalence of spiking in Scotland. We might discuss that today and look...

The Convener Con

We can hear the voice of students from Ellen MacRae.

Ellen MacRae (Edinburgh University Students Association)

I agree with Sally Mapstone’s point that it is not only students who are impacted. I think that every student knows at least one person who has been spiked d...

Martha Williams (Girls Night In)

I can give another student perspective on the question of why spiking has escalated. One explanation that I have come to is that we have all been kept indoor...

The Convener Con

What is the reason for that?

Martha Williams

As Ellen MacRae has said, there is a culture of victim blaming. People are afraid that, if they come forward, their stories will not be taken seriously. Unfo...

The Convener Con

I see that Stephanie Callaghan has put a comment in the chat function, asking for more information about the survey that you mentioned. Can you run through s...

Martha Williams

The data were gathered from a social media account that has turned itself into an outlet for people to come forward and report incidents of spiking that they...

The Convener Con

I wonder whether Kate Wallace can shed further light on that.

Kate Wallace (Victim Support Scotland)

Thank you for bringing me in, convener. The underreporting of crime is generally an issue, with fewer than half of those who say that they have been a victim...

The Convener Con

You—

Kate Wallace

We should also remember that there is no specific crime of spiking, which does not help in gauging prevalence. I am sorry if I interrupted you, convener.

The Convener Con

No—you made a very important point. You mentioned the settings where there is what you have described as additional unwelcome alcohol, which I presume is put...

Kate Wallace

Or you are given, say, triples that you do not want or have not asked for.

The Convener Con

What is the most likely setting for that? Are you suggesting that that is more likely to happen in a private setting?

Kate Wallace

We are talking about multiple settings—it is not just one or the other. I just wanted to remind people that spiking can occur outwith nightclubs, pubs and th...

Superintendent Sloan

I want to reiterate some of the points that have been made. We in Police Scotland have focused our communications on perpetrator behaviour, because it is the...

The Convener Con

There was a comment earlier from Ellen MacRae, I think, about reporting. How would a victim—someone who has had such a thing perpetrated on them—normally rep...

Superintendent Sloan

It depends on the individual and on what they wish to do. We have bystander awareness training, which we have shared with the staff of licensed premises and ...

Martha Williams

I will make a quick point. One of the key issues in the conversation is the fact that there is such a lack of clarity on the procedure for reporting spikings...

The Convener Con

It is apt that we turn to Jill Stevenson, from the University of Stirling, who is also director of the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher ...

Jill Stevenson (Association of Managers of Student Services In Higher Education)

I hope that I can pick up on some of those points. Notwithstanding the valid points that have been made about the issue being not just for students but for w...

The Convener Con

Martha Williams mentioned that young people have been locked in and locked down, and she gave that as one of the reasons for the uptick, which is very plausi...

Jill Stevenson

It is a complex question, because there are many types of gender-based violence. I would probably defer to the police on prevalence. We know that all types o...

The Convener Con

Would Hilary Sloan like to make a quick comment on that? Then I will bring in Kaukab Stewart, who has a point to address to Mike Grieve and Andrew Green.

Superintendent Sloan

People having the confidence to report incidents to us, whether it is gender-based violence or any other crime, is key for us. We want people to come forward...