Lancaster club shut ‘in solidarity’ with Girls’ Night In

A student union nightclub in Lancaster was closed on Wednesday to “stand in solidarity” with a nationwide protest over drink-spiking.

The Sugarhouse closed its doors on Wednesday 27 October in support of Girls’ Night In, a movement founded in response to reports of female students having their drinks spiked, and being “spiked with needles”.

The movement also aims to ensure that more is done to make nightclubs a safe place, and has organised boycotts of clubs nationwide to highlight the issue.

The Lancaster University Students’ Union said: “The Sugarhouse has always made the welfare of its customers its highest priority, and so we fully support the aims of their campaign to highlight this topic and their calls for action.”

A statement by the Sugarhouse said:  “The Sugarhouse has always made the welfare of its customers its highest priority, and so we fully support the aims of their campaign to highlight this topic and their calls for action.

“We believe all students have the right to feel safe on a night out.”

“We already have a range of measures in place to counter spiking and look after our customers’ welfare, and we will continue to work hard to ensure this doesn’t happen at The Sugarhouse, and that it remains among the safest places to enjoy a night out.”

When we started our movement, we couldn’t have possibly predicted it would go this far

– Girls Night In Lancaster

Instead of opening on Wednesday, the Sugarhouse ran a training session for both their bar and security staff, informing them how to deal with suspected spiking cases and reinforcing existing safety protocols.

In response to the Sugarhouse’s efforts, Girls’ Night In Lancaster said: “The Sugarhouse so far has been the only major Lancaster club to support our boycott and listen to what we were asking for.

“We were very impressed with the safety measures they already have and propose to introduce. We have also been very overwhelmed and touched by them agreeing to close on the night of our boycott. This was definitely the biggest show of support and solidarity they could have possibly given us, and it’s simply incredible. When we started our movement, we couldn’t have possibly predicted it would go this far.

“However, there is still a lot of work to be done for our campaign, and we hope we will still have continued support as we continue this very important movement.

“We would like to add, although this campaign may appear to be centred around women, anybody can be spiked and it’s very important not to forget that. Sadly, this could happen to anybody, therefore it’s vital to know the signs and look out for your friends on a night out. We hope you all stay safe.”