Content note: this article contains mention of drink spiking

A boycott of Cambridge nightclubs is planned next Wednesday (27/10) in response to a reported rise in incidents of drink spiking in popular clubs in Cambridge.

The boycott is being organised by a new group called Girls Night In Cambridge alongside other organisers. The group is spreading awareness for the boycott throughout social media.

Girls Night In Cambridge told Varsity that they have “heard of many students who have experienced this unacceptable behaviour in Cambridge.”

Across the country, students are organising the boycott of venues in order to pressurise nightclubs to be harsher in their responses to the increase in drinks being spiked.

The Girls Night In movement began in Edinburgh after increased accounts of spiking were becoming obvious to students. The group Girls Night In Edinburgh was launched to spread awareness of the incidents.

The Edinburgh group plans to boycott clubs next Thursday (28/10) “until the spiking outbreak is taken more seriously”. The movement has spread throughout cities, with many more universities, such as Leeds and Liverpool, also organising similar movements in opposition to spiking.

Girls Night In Cambridge wants “clubs and bars to increase their entry security and in club/venue security.”

Along with increased security, Girls Night In Cambridge also suggests that clubs should adopt measures such as “covers for drinks, spike testing strips for drinks and support from their staff.”

The group emphasised that people of all genders are “welcome to join this movement” in an Instagram post released today.

In relation to the nationwide rise in cases of spiking, a parliamentary petition demanding that “thoroughly search[ing] guests on entry” becomes “a legal requirement for nightclubs” has now received over 110,000 signatures.