A British holidaymaker has described how she almost died when someone spiked her drink on vacation on the island of Crete in Greece. Emily Earle was on vacation with a group of friends, and on an evening out, she felt unwell after consuming her third drink, after which she fell asleep at a table at around 5.30 pm. The 19-year-old said she felt really drunk when she woke up and wandered around looking for a bathroom. When she failed to return, her friends looked for her and found her in a hotel room with a group of young men who were strangers to her.
Her friends took Ms. Earle back to her hotel, where, after a brief rest, she struggled to catch her breath – at that point, her friends called an ambulance. Doctors confirmed to the young woman that drugs were found in her system.
The medical student from Crawley in England said, “This was a horrible experience which was traumatic for me, my family, and my friends.” She went on to say that she always thought of these incidents happening to other people but never to her. Emily added that she felt violated and that her choices had been taken from her.
In a British YouGov poll from 2022, 10% of women and 5% of men reported having their drinks spiked at least once. In London, police say the number of victims has quadrupled since 2019, and a new charity – Stamp Out Spiking – was established in 2022 to help victims deal with the physical and emotional aftermath.
Stephen Hart, who founded the organization, described his experience of visiting a bar one evening and closing his eyes for just a few seconds. When he opened them, he was in a place he didn’t recognize and was “covered in blood.” Mr. Hart explained that when he got home and had a shower, he realized he had been sexually assaulted.
In America, the figures are even more stark than in Europe. An American Addictions Center survey last year found that a staggering 50% of Americans believe their drinks had been spiked.
