‘Everybody is very scared to go on nights out’

Описание: Women are feeling “very, very scared” about going to nightclubs at the moment due to an increase in the number of spiking cases around the country, the Dundee-based organiser of a Girls Night In campaign has told STV News.

Students in Dundee and St Andrews boycotted nightclubs on Wednesday night, and many more young women are staying in on Thursday night to highlight the issue of female safety.

Police Scotland say investigations into claims of spiking by injection in Edinburgh and Dundee are ongoing.

And NHS Grampian has issued advice following 15 reports of spiking in Aberdeen nightclubs and pubs in recent weeks.

Dozens of local Instagram pages have been created to spread the news of the Girls Night In campaign, where women from various university cities will stay in, “spreading awareness and challenging clubs” to keep people safe.

Olivia Robertson, organiser of Girls Night In Dundee, told STV News: “I think anxious is definitely the right word and there is a lot of dismay happening.

“Everybody is very scared to go on nights out because honestly we just do not feel safe at the moment and some of the abysmal responses from clubs have really been putting into consideration how girls feel and it’s really been putting that into place – a lot of us are feeling very, very scared.

“Especially after Covid, a lot of people are wanting to go out right now and that is just obviously not safe enough for us right now and obviously in shows in all of the reactions and support that we have been getting.”