Lancaster University spiking victim felt she was not taken seriously

A spiking victim who felt she was not taken seriously by her GP and university after the attack has said she still feels unsafe five years on.

Lancaster University graduate Polly Sutherland, 24, said she had her drink spiked at the student union's club, The Sugarhouse, in December 2016.

Ms Sutherland said she reported it to her doctor and university but was "let down" with their responses.

Lancaster University said it could not comment on individual incidents.

Ms Sutherland, who has type 1 diabetes, said her friends noticed that her personality had changed after she was spiked.

"So they took me home, I went to bed, but when I woke up in the morning I had a lot of bodily weakness and twitches in my arms, legs, all over really," she said.

Ms Sutherland said being drugged left her needing to use a walking stick for around a month because it damaged her blood sugar levels.

She had to apply for deadline extensions in the final year of her art degree because she could not paint or draw following the spiking.

"It made me feel very vulnerable. Even now, when I go on nights out I'm very cautious of it now and it's in the back of my mind all the time," she said.

The graduate, who is from Stone in Staffordshire, said she was "really disappointed" when she reported it to her GP.

"They almost raised their eyebrows, almost accusing me of taking drugs and I was trying to get out of it somehow or making excuses," she added.

"I felt very let down by the doctors at that point."

Ms Sutherland said she reported the spiking to Lancaster University Students' Union but received little response.

In a statement, Lancaster University said it strongly encouraged students to report spiking and assaults to the facility and police.

It said it had created a range of ways to enable students to come forward and report incidents.

Meanwhile, The Sugarhouse nightclub closed on Wednesday to "stand in solidarity" with a nationwide protest over drink-spiking.

Ms Sutherland said she had joined the Girls Night In boycott of nightclubs.

"The thing that bothers me is that, with the boycotting, the onus is on girls, again, to stay in," she said.

"I think the fact that we are the ones that have to stay in because this is happening is putting it on us, it's our responsibility to make sure we don't get spiked, instead of telling people not to spike people."

Ms Sutherland said clubs should use CCTV and scan ID cards on entry so that they have a record of who attended each night.

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