What is your stereotype of a person who falls victim to drink spiking in pubs? Is it an 18-year-old ‘Essex girl’, wearing high heels and a short skirt, and out with her friends? The statistics challenge such a stereotype and show that women aged 30–50 are most at risk (Roofie Foundation, 2008).

Recently a study of 6,064 students in three universities in the USA found that 462 students (7.8 per cent) reported 539 incidents in which they said they had been drugged, and 83 (1.4 per cent) said either they had drugged someone, or they knew someone who had drugged another person.

The study found significant gender differences. Women were more likely to be the victims of spiking and reported more negative consequences than men, although men comprised 21 per cent of the victims. Women were also more likely to report sexual assault as a motive while men more often said the purpose was ‘to have fun’ (Swan et al., 2016).

Do these findings confirm or challenge your stereotypes?