Why Nightclubs Are Being Boycotted Across the UK

Halfway through October, a purple-hued Instagram page was launched, demanding one thing of its followers: “Boycott all Edinburgh nightclubs to demonstrate that we are NOT comfortable going out in Edinburgh as long as nightclubs are enabling spiking.”

For obvious reasons, the message picked up support. But once it reached a national audience, it drew just as much criticism.

According to data from The National Police Chiefs’ Council, as of the 23rd of October there had been 198 confirmed reports of drink spiking in the UK over the previous two months, including 56 reports of spiking by injection. With numbers up from the previous high of 2017, the founders of the “Girls Night In” Instagram page decided to take matters into their own hands.

The account urged clubbers to host gatherings at home on Thursday the 28th of October, boycotting nightclubs that refused to take action to counter spiking incidents. “We’re boycotting the nightclubs for one night so they pay attention to our concerns for our safety,” the founder of the Edinburgh boycott, Martha Williams, outlined in an interview with The Edinburgh Tab.

Quickly, the page’s keep-us-safe sentiment rattled around the UK’s nightlife networks. By the end of its first day there were 14 “Girls Night In” accounts across the UK. Within a week, this number had grown to almost 70. 

All promoted the same message: show nightclubs that we want them to take drink spiking seriously. From Inverness to Ipswich, Swansea to Southampton, the protest grew, spearheaded by individuals who had seen spiking in their own communities and demanded serious change.

“It got to the point that almost every conversation I was having came back to spiking,” says Hannah, founder of the campaign’s Newcastle unit, who requested anonymity after being harassed on social media for setting up the page.

On the night of the 28th, supporters of the boycott posted photos of their nights in and were cheered on by likeminded followers. But as the movement grew, people started to question if the call to boycott read like a stay home order. Some were concerned that loss of revenue would hit an already struggling events industry, while others felt that holding boycotts on a weeknight wasn’t a strong enough statement to push the clubs to change. 

One key issue centred around how clubs can actually better protect their customers. On the 20th October, the original campaign group, Girls’ Night In Edinburgh, posted a call-out asking how to make club patrons feel safer. Responses included calls for introducing code words, background checks for members of staff and lifelong bans for people who are caught spiking.

However, one point split opinion among “Night In” organisers across the UK – a demand for “more thorough security checks at the door”. While a petition asking the UK government for these checks has been signed by more than 170,000 people, many are concerned that increased security and surveillance will harm vulnerable communities. 

The team behind the Belfast “Night In” boycott say they don’t endorse the petition, with a spokesperson telling me it “is not an effective solution to the spiking epidemic: it would undoubtedly affect marginalised groups disproportionately”. 

A handful of UK clubs have responded to the movement’s demands, outlining the steps they have taken to deal with drink spiking, including providing lids for drinks, bystander training for staff and designated first aid zones. Some clubs and student nights also closed on the day of the boycott – from Revolution in York and Asylum in Hull University Students’ Union, to The Angel in Nottingham.

Another venue was Liverpool’s The Highball Club, which closed on Tuesday the 26th of October to provide spiking intervention training to staff.

“It was really important to show that we are a place where people can recognise we are taking this seriously, and taking the proper steps to ensure everyone’s safety,” explains Highball director Joe Maryanji, adding that “there is no standard, free, drink spiking training available, so it falls on business operators to do this by themselves, and the funding for this should really come from the council or the police”.

For Girls Night In organiser Hannah, this response from clubs is important, but not the end of the road. “What we’re really intent on<‘ she says, “is keeping this momentum going and keeping the pressure on clubs to make sure they really are putting into practice what they say they’re doing.”

Turning a flashpoint of outrage into a long-term campaign is not a simple task. Rather than a promise from nightclubs to put lids on drinks, many organisers are calling for inclusive changes to wider nightclub culture. 

“We have heard from countless numbers of workers about how they feel pressured to quietly accept unwanted advances by customers so that they don’t lose out on a tip,” says a Unite Hospitality spokesperson. “This feeds back into how abusers know they can get away with their actions.” 

Historically, the issue of spiking has been met with victim-blaming “tips and tricks” – don’t drink too much, don’t leave your drink unattended, don’t accept drinks from strangers. But it’s clearly the perpetrators who need to be targeted, not the victims – and responsibility for the first line of attack lies with nightclubs.

@ellen_mcveigh