Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Aug 01, 2026

Do men know enough about drink spiking?

Many of the victims of serial rapist Reynhard Sinaga did not even know they had been assaulted.

After luring men outside Manchester clubs, the post-graduate student would take them back to his flat and ply them with spiked drinks to knock them unconscious.

Although the drugging took place in a very particular set of circumstances, his conviction raises questions about the broader problem of drink spiking.

The vast majority of victims are women, but men are at risk too.


How much do men know about the risks of drink spiking?

Jared Dolby, a 28-year-old philosophy student in Manchester, says much more practical information is needed about the dangers.

"I'm a more mature student and I'm from a small seaside town and I feel streetwise, but for some of these students coming from more privileged backgrounds, Manchester can be a dangerous city.

"There could be more signposting to the help and advice available. Maybe it's a wider cultural issue. There's a taboo around attacks on men.

"You would hope after such an awful thing [the Sinaga case], people would feel more willing to come forward and talk about these issues."

James King, 25, a student who grew up in Manchester, says a lot of it comes down to "toxic masculinity".

"Men don't feel comfortable in their vulnerability. We probably have a lot to learn from women here.

"Women are expected to be able to ask for help, but rape is not something men are expected to have to deal with.

"Practically, maybe staff at bars and nightclubs need to be aware of the issues too. Bouncers are happy to kick people out, but perhaps they need to be more like guardian figures."

Lloyd Brinkworth, a 24-year-old mechanical engineering student, originally from Worcester, says Manchester University, where a number of Sinaga's victims came from, has emailed male students specifically, pointing them to the services available.

"So there is support out there. Outside the university? I'm not so sure."

Fellow student Liam Ashton, 22, added: "We're a tight-knit group of friends and if we are out then we would always make sure everybody's OK and the girls get home safe.

"But it's interesting that the uni has been targeting young men [with advice].

"It's not something we really think about. Would you know where to go? And would you even want to talk about it?"


What can be done to raise awareness?

Elaine Hindal, chief executive of alcohol education charity Drinkaware, says men face a "pervasive" peer pressure when it comes to drinking, which can make them less aware of their vulnerability when they are out in bars and clubs than women might be.

The charity often hears that people don't report a drink being spiked because they fear they won't be believed, or that they will be seen as "making an excuse" for having drunk too much.

Ms Hindal says this may be "even more challenging for men" because there is not enough discussion around their vulnerability more broadly.

She stresses that the vast majority of drink-spiking victims are women, but that the Sinaga case has brought the issue of male victims to light.

"The kind of advice we give to women applies to them as well - stick together, look out for each other, make a plan to get home together so that you stay safe," she says.

Catherine Bewley, from the LGBT+ anti-violence organisation, Galop, said all victims deserved respect and appropriate support, which did not judge or blame them, whatever their gender or circumstances.

Manchester University students' union says it runs regular drink-spiking awareness campaigns at its venues, in particular during freshers' week.


What can you do to keep yourself safe?

Sinaga is thought to have used the Class C drug GHB - which is used recreationally but can be fatal at a slightly higher dose than he gave his victims - but predators can also spike drinks with other illicit drugs such as ketamine or Rohypnol.

It's near impossible to tell whether a drink's been spiked by the taste or smell, although GHB may taste slightly salty or smell unusual.

The NHS offers some steps that might help to stop it happening:

Don't leave drinks unattended and keep an eye on your friends' drinks
Don't accept drinks from people you don't know
Avoid punchbowls and stick to bottled drinks
If you think your drink's been spiked or start to feel strange or more drunk than you should be, leave your drink and tell a trusted friend straight away
Tell someone at home or elsewhere where you're going and when you expect to be home - and have plans for getting home
Some bars provide drinks' lids or plastic stopper devices which can reduce the risk of drink-spiking. Others offer drink-testing kits but they won't test for every drug and don't always work.


How big a problem is it?

While it's hard to know the true extent as incidents often go unreported, research by the BBC Radio 5 Live Investigations Unit carried out last year found there were at least 2,650 reports of drink spiking in England and Wales between 2015 and 2019.

The data from 22 out of 43 police forces and the British Transport Police showed about one in four of the victims were men.

Between January and September 2019, 68 cases had already been recorded, suggesting the total figure for 2019 was set to hit a five-year high.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
Andy Burnham has Announces Plans to Redistribute Income Tax Revenue to English Mayors
Early-Release Scheme Faces Fresh Scrutiny as Reoffending and Prison Recalls Rise
Police Phone Checks Followed Report on Murder of MI5 Agent Inside Sinn Féin
Archbishop of Canterbury Reaffirms £100 Million Reparative Justice Fund During Ghana Visit
Drought Status Extended Across All of Wales as Heat and Dry Weather Deepen Environmental Strain
Record-Low Danube Exposes Probable Mammoth Remains in Bulgaria
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
The chief executive of the popular gaming company laid off many employees and his pay rose to 38 million dollars
The World's Most Terrifying Smartphone: Recording, Documenting, and Reporting to the Regime
The AI User Nightmare: Private Claude Conversations Leaked to the Internet
UK: Former Football Association Leaders Call for World Cup Boycott Over FIFA Privatization Plan
Forbidden Love: China severs millions from their virtual partners
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Zuckerberg Opposes US Ban on Chinese AI Models and Warns of Regulatory Capture
Massive Wildfires Ravage Southern Europe: Fatalities in Greece and Evacuations Across France, Spain, and Turkey
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
France Evacuates Atlantic Coast Resorts as Wildfire Risk Rises Again
Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Strikes Kumamoto as Rescuers Search Collapsed Buildings
OpenAI Faces Demands for Full Disclosure After Models Breach Hugging Face
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
Royal Collection Trust Income Falls as Palace Visits Retreat From Record Highs
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Ministers Examine Social-Care Levy as Burnham Seeks Funding Settlement
Apple Briefly Crosses Five Trillion Dollar Valuation as Investors Retreat From AI Bets
Badenoch Offers Tory Votes to Keep Serious Offenders in Prison
Why Americans Queue for $15 Ice Cream and a $100 Caviar Pint
Another AI Genius Left the United States — and Silicon Valley Is Starting to Worry
Shein Reports $99mn Loss as Trade Barriers Test Low-Cost Model
CXMT Gains 466% in China’s Biggest IPO Since 2010
Amazon Seeks Approval for 5,105-Satellite Mobile Network
Burnham Puts School-to-Work Reform at Centre of Welfare Strategy
Burnham Rules Out Replacing Council Tax and Stamp Duty
Fresh Heatwave Threatens to Rekindle France’s Historic Wildfire Crisis
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
Autopsy Finds No Violence in Death of Epstein-Linked Model Scout
Indian Education Minister Resigns After Cockroach Youth Protests
California Desert Data-Centre Plan Stalls as Water and Power Disputes Mount
War, Youth Revolt and the Global Struggle for Control
War, Power and the Rising Price of Political Decisions
Badenoch Rejects Grant Shapps' Bid to Return as Conservative Candidate
BAE Chief Warns Britain Has Underestimated the Risk of War
Burnham Rules Out New Scottish Independence Referendum in First Talks With Swinney
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Viral Video Raises Questions Over Twelve-Dollar Croissants at Manhattan Bakery
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
US Gasoline Returns to $4 as Renewed Iran Fighting Disrupts Oil Flows
Czech Central Bank Governor Rejects Early Euro Entry and Rate-Cut Pressure
Trump Orders 50% Tariffs on Selected Canadian Imports
×