Post by Chips on May 11, 2008 11:22:07 GMT 9.5
Dangerous strangers are everywhere
AMBER PETTY
MANY of us would have been shocked by the news of dance judge Todd McKenney being found in a Sydney park after allegedly having his drink spiked by strangers at a party. The conversations I've had around this incident are, without doubt, sinister and should come as a warning to us all.
There's a stranger danger out there and it's not the sort that we warn our kids about. It's the sort where we adults need to view every person in our surroundings - whether it be in a corporate box at a sporting match, one of Adelaide's most respected restaurants or out at a pub - as a potential predator.
I mention some of these places because these are venues where drink-spiking has taken place.
Only a month ago, one Friday afternoon, I met up with a friend for an after-work drink in Hutt St. As I sat enjoying just one drink, a random guy, in a nice suit, plonked himself down to have a chat. Not being in the mood to be picked up by the big-noting idiot, we were delighted when a mutual friend wandered past our table and stopped to say hi.
Distracted by our friend for only a minute or so, we realised our annoying "suit" had relocated to a nearby table, where he seemed to be filling in his mates on his attempt at impressing us girls. Or was he?
Twenty minutes later, I started feeling really dizzy, and asked my friend to walk me to my car so I could go home.
Moments later, I almost blacked out and vomited.
Within only two hours, my friend returned home with her husband. From that point, she recalls nothing. She woke the next day feeling shaky and confused, as did her husband.
What had she done, and what had she said? That remains between them, but safe to say it took a while for both of them to get over it. Another friend told how his nurse wife, who works at one of Adelaide's major hospitals, treated one particular victim of drink spiking who had had her bowel perforated by what they believe was an attack made during her "lost hours".
I stress that these stories come from genuine women who are not making excuses for bad behaviour but who remember one minute being OK and the next waking up in bed with a gut feeling (and certain evidence) that they may have had sex with a stranger. These stories are as ugly as it gets. No sane woman is going to make up a drink-spiking story such as one that was shared with me recently. It was horrific - she went to the GP months after the incident with serious abdominal pain, only to find out a wine cap had been lodged in her womb.
And that's after the trauma of not knowing if she had had sex and with whom. What diseases were they carrying? And could she be pregnant?
Don't fool yourself that drink spiking applies only to women who may have already had a few and are therefore easy targets. A well-known South Aussie basketballer was rushed to hospital thinking she was dying after one sober night out, only to find after drug tests that her drinks had been spiked with cocaine. Apart from the fear factor, her career could have been ruined.
How can we protect ourselves? We all need to be acutely sensitive to any sudden feelings of nausea while out, or sudden extreme feelings of being drunk or drowsy.
These are the first signs something may be wrong. Most of the time your predator will be monitoring your demise, so he can move in for the kill.
This is not just happening at seedy places. It's everywhere. We need to spend more time looking out for mates, or alerting our friends that we feel weird, than worrying about entertaining some stranger who may have a sinister reason for flattering us with their attention.
* Amber Petty is co-host of the SAFM morning show.
On guard at the bar
Don't accept a drink from anyone unless you are there when they order it.
Make a pact with your friends to look out for each other, and never ignore strange behaviour.
Bar people and waiters can also be part of the drink-spiking scam.
You'd be amazed at where drink spiking can occur. Even a corporate box at a sporting event, according to one victim.
AMBER PETTY
MANY of us would have been shocked by the news of dance judge Todd McKenney being found in a Sydney park after allegedly having his drink spiked by strangers at a party. The conversations I've had around this incident are, without doubt, sinister and should come as a warning to us all.
There's a stranger danger out there and it's not the sort that we warn our kids about. It's the sort where we adults need to view every person in our surroundings - whether it be in a corporate box at a sporting match, one of Adelaide's most respected restaurants or out at a pub - as a potential predator.
I mention some of these places because these are venues where drink-spiking has taken place.
Only a month ago, one Friday afternoon, I met up with a friend for an after-work drink in Hutt St. As I sat enjoying just one drink, a random guy, in a nice suit, plonked himself down to have a chat. Not being in the mood to be picked up by the big-noting idiot, we were delighted when a mutual friend wandered past our table and stopped to say hi.
Distracted by our friend for only a minute or so, we realised our annoying "suit" had relocated to a nearby table, where he seemed to be filling in his mates on his attempt at impressing us girls. Or was he?
Twenty minutes later, I started feeling really dizzy, and asked my friend to walk me to my car so I could go home.
Moments later, I almost blacked out and vomited.
Within only two hours, my friend returned home with her husband. From that point, she recalls nothing. She woke the next day feeling shaky and confused, as did her husband.
What had she done, and what had she said? That remains between them, but safe to say it took a while for both of them to get over it. Another friend told how his nurse wife, who works at one of Adelaide's major hospitals, treated one particular victim of drink spiking who had had her bowel perforated by what they believe was an attack made during her "lost hours".
I stress that these stories come from genuine women who are not making excuses for bad behaviour but who remember one minute being OK and the next waking up in bed with a gut feeling (and certain evidence) that they may have had sex with a stranger. These stories are as ugly as it gets. No sane woman is going to make up a drink-spiking story such as one that was shared with me recently. It was horrific - she went to the GP months after the incident with serious abdominal pain, only to find out a wine cap had been lodged in her womb.
And that's after the trauma of not knowing if she had had sex and with whom. What diseases were they carrying? And could she be pregnant?
Don't fool yourself that drink spiking applies only to women who may have already had a few and are therefore easy targets. A well-known South Aussie basketballer was rushed to hospital thinking she was dying after one sober night out, only to find after drug tests that her drinks had been spiked with cocaine. Apart from the fear factor, her career could have been ruined.
How can we protect ourselves? We all need to be acutely sensitive to any sudden feelings of nausea while out, or sudden extreme feelings of being drunk or drowsy.
These are the first signs something may be wrong. Most of the time your predator will be monitoring your demise, so he can move in for the kill.
This is not just happening at seedy places. It's everywhere. We need to spend more time looking out for mates, or alerting our friends that we feel weird, than worrying about entertaining some stranger who may have a sinister reason for flattering us with their attention.
* Amber Petty is co-host of the SAFM morning show.
On guard at the bar
Don't accept a drink from anyone unless you are there when they order it.
Make a pact with your friends to look out for each other, and never ignore strange behaviour.
Bar people and waiters can also be part of the drink-spiking scam.
You'd be amazed at where drink spiking can occur. Even a corporate box at a sporting event, according to one victim.