Important Information

22/10/2021

Drink spiking

Dear student

I am writing to reiterate our commitment to providing you with a safe space to learn, study, live and socialise.

Some students have raised concerns about drink spiking in Aberystwyth; we thank them for coming forward and encourage any member of our community to do so if they have experienced spiking, have witnessed it or have been made aware of it.

We have also seen in these past few days students across the UK come together and call for action to be taken to reduce risk of harm on nights out.

Let us be clear; violence in any form, be that bullying, harassment, hate crime, abuse or the spiking of drinks, is not acceptable, will not be tolerated and has no place at Aberystwyth.

Nobody should feel unsafe on a night out. We stand together with the Police and Students’ Union to actively tackle and challenge behaviour and will take disciplinary action to protect members of our community.

We also fully support our Students’ Union Drink Spiking campaign which provides a platform for students to report instances of spiking. They are working with local venues and provide educational materials on how to help someone who has been spiked.

It is important for all of us to treat each other with the dignity and respect we deserve.

Our Student Dignity and Respect webpages set out the expectations and responsibilities and includes  a link for you to report any misconduct.

Report and support

If you, or someone you know, have experienced unwanted actions or behaviour or been treated unfairly, you can tell us about it.

You can use the online form anonymously, as a third party or by identifying yourself.

You can also report in-person to a member of staff such as your personal tutor, staff in residences or campus security or in Student Support and Careers Services. You can also speak to officers in the Students’ Union.

If you report with contact details, a member of staff will be in touch to discuss what you would like to happen next and discuss the support available for you.

If you report anonymously, we will use this information to better understand the issues affecting our University community, to monitor and inform proactive and preventative work.

Please note that this is not an emergency response system. If you experience or witness behaviour that brings concerns about your safety or that of others, call 999 immediately.

Additional information about contacting Dyfed Powys Police is available online here.

If it is not an emergency but you need support from campus security, please call 01970 622649 or email security@aber.ac.uk

We advise against making reports or accusations in public fora such as social media.  Doing so carries additional risks to all involved and can lead to a criminal case being compromised.

We would though encourage members of our community who are concerned, or who have information that could prove helpful in identifying an individual who has caused harm to use the most appropriate methods of reporting set out above.

If you need support or are affected by anything mentioned in this message, there are services available to you, including our Student Wellbeing Service, Victim Support and TogetherAll.

In case of emergency please be aware of the Emergency Actions page on the University Health, Safety & Environment pages