Tuesday 26-10-2021 - 00:00

Update 14 January 

We can confirm that University bars now have drink toppers and testing kits. Both resources are available to request behind each bar and Security Services have a supply of drink toppers available to collect in Royal Fort. Bar staff have also been trained in the Ask for Angela scheme. 

Resilife will be doing outreach at North Village on 24 January, to find out more click here.

Finally, Ruth Day (Bristol SU’s Student Living Officer), along with SU staff, has been working with the Student Resolution Service to review what information on spiking is available on both SU and University webpages.

 

Update 15 December 

We've had confirmation that the University bars have ordered drink toppers and testing kits which we hope will be in place shortly.

We're still awaiting updates on the rest of our funding requests but are hopeful to be able to provide an update in the new year.

We're hosting a harm reduction drop-in session ahead of New Year (30 December) where you can get advice and support on drugs and alcohol, and get trained to use and pick up a free reagent drug testing kit! Contact TheDrop@bdp.org.uk to book in or or text / WhatsApp 07814617687. Sessions can be offered online if you’re self-isolating.

 

Update 18 November

Last week we published a joint statement with the university on drink spiking, and we told you we’d be continuing work on safer nights out.  

This week ‘Girls Night In Bristol’ are calling a boycott of Bristol clubs this Wednesday which has already seen a huge amount of support online. We’ll be supporting the boycott this week. 

There are lots of campaigns in this space at the moment, including the Bristol Rules campaign, and Reclaim which is led annually by the Bristol SU Women’s Network.  

We’ve also partnered with ResiLife to have an outreach team at Hiatt Baker Transport Hub this Saturday from 10pm-3am who will be meeting students with food, water, condoms, and support available.  

We’ll be continuing to support ongoing work in this area as well as:  

• reaching out to our student groups with some guidance about how they can navigate these issues and keep their members safe on socials 
• lobbying the university for funding for drink/bottle toppers and drink testing kits for our venues  
• ensuring bar staff have training to support you  
• ensuring the external venues we partner with on nights out have measures in place to keep you safe  
• using our influence as an SU to join the voices lobbying clubs for key changes.   

In the past few weeks we've taken several actions to continue this piece of work:

• We've met with Girls Night In to see how the SU can work with grassroots efforts to keep people safe in the spates of spikings occurring in the city.
• We've met with other Russell Group SU Officers to discuss our response to drink spiking
• We've set up a meeting with the Council to discuss drink spiking and changing venues licensing laws
• We've started working on improving the University and SU's information and support for those who have been victims of sexual violence or spiking
• We've had confirmation that staff in University bars have had training in and are making use of the Ask Angela scheme

Stay tuned for updates!