Switch Southampton to close on Wednesday in support of the Girls Night In movement

Switch Southampton has announced it will be closing on Wednesday 27th October in response to the proposed boycott of clubs which is protesting the increase in spiking cases and lack of care and prevention from bars and clubs.

The announcement was released yesterday on the clubs Facebook page and this morning onto their Instagram page.

The statement said: “Switch Southampton would like to announce our plans to close on Wednesday 27th October.

“This decision has not been made lightly but we feel it’s important to stand in solidarity with the ‘Girls night in’ movement.

“After much consideration and communication with local authorities, the student unions and our staff we believe as a venue it is important to show unity with our customers and support this very significant movement.

“Our number one priority is to ensure the safety of our customers each and every visit to our venue. This is something we take very seriously, as everyone should be able to feel safe on a night out.”

The statement continued to say that the “incidents are incredibly rare” but that “even one spiking is too many.”

They then outlined some of their measures to keep customers safe including anti-spiking devices, CCTV and bodycams and a We Care policy.

Switch also encouraged customers to report suspicious behaviour to them straight away and “to contact the police so that any allegation can be properly investigated. Anyone who is suspected of spiking will be detained and handed over to the authorities who we work very closely with.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVczCZlsWZG/

The Girls Night In movement is happening nationally with many clubs releasing statements regarding their current safety policies and what they plan to introduce in the future.

People are outraged at reports of students being spiked by injection, leaving many feeling scared to go clubbing.

Students are calling for more to be done by venues in order to prevent spiking and to offer more support for the victims of spiking.

Related articles recommended by this writer:

• A Girls Night In event is taking place in Southampton this week

• This is how you can tell if your drink has been spiked

• Girls are reporting being spiked by injection – I’m terrified to go clubbing