Anti-spiking campaigners call on people to boycott town centre pubs and nightclubs

A campaign group has called for revellers to steer clear of certain venues in Stirling following country-wide concern over the reported prevalence of drink and injection spiking in pubs and clubs.

Reclaim Stirling, which campaigns against gender-based violence, has urged the city’s residents to take a stand against establishments which have failed to take appropriate action to tackle spiking on their premises by boycotting them this coming Halloween weekend.

After alarming reports of so-called “injection spikings” – incidents of customers being literally “spiked” with a syringe needle to drug them – circulated earlier this month, the campaigners reached out to many of Stirling’s clubs and bars asking them to clarify their procedures for dealing with instances of spiking.

Of the 13 establishments contacted, only two responded – the Stirling University Union and the Birds and the Bees.

Campaigners have called upon customers to boycott clubs and nightclubs

Reclaim Stirling has expressed concerns about the opacity of the venues’ reporting procedures and feel the lack of response to their enquiries shows an apathy towards tackling the issue of spiking.

The group’s boycott will run from Wednesday to November 1 and a protest will take place in the city centre on Saturday.

Jess Reid, co-founder of Reclaim Stirling, said: “For too long clubs and pubs have continued to make money while their patrons are spiked and assaulted. Enough is enough.

“We want the people of Stirling to show that we won’t accept it anymore, and to boycott all venues on those days and join our protest. We encourage people to get involved in any way that they can to support our work."

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