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Drink spiking set to be made a criminal offence in the UK to ‘protect women and girls’ Emily Sergeant
Drink spiking is set to be made a criminal offence in the UK in a bid to help “protect women and girls”, it has been confirmed.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is personally committing to halving violence women and girls by urging all police chiefs, industry executives, and transport bosses nationwide to “work together” to keep everyone safe.
The Government says this new measure will “send a clear signal that this is a crime”.
“Perpetrators should feel the full force of the law,” the Prime Minister said, adding that he believes the new law will empower victims to report offences and give them the confidence that the justice system will support them.
The new offence is said to be only one of part of the solution, however, as Starmer will also demand “coordinated action” to “stamp out this cowardly act” and “take back our streets”.
This will include the training of thousands of staff working in the nighttime economy on how to spot and tackle spiking, equipping them with the skills they need to prevent incidents and support victims, as well as help police to collect evidence.
With the pilot starting from next month, the aim is for this to be rolled out to up to 10,000 bar staff across the country by spring next year.
Spiking will be made a criminal offence.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) November 25, 2024
My government was elected to take back our streets, central to this mission is making sure women and girls can feel safe at night.
Perpetrators of spiking will feel the full force of the law.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called spiking a “disturbing and serious crime”
She continued: “That’s why we are taking decisive action to prevent this devastating crime and crack down on perpetrators by introducing a new criminal offence for spiking, and launching specialist training for thousands of bar staff nationwide.
Read more:
- Thousands of Greater Manchester university students given free anti-drink spiking kits
- Andy Burnham announces new anti-spiking partnership inspired by Manchester students
- Coronation Street praised for ‘very important’ spiking storyline
“People shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their drinks on a night out.
“These changes are about giving victims greater confidence to come forward, and ensuring that there is a robust response from the police whenever this appalling crimes take place.”
Featured Image – John Arano (via Unsplash)
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The Lowry Hotel is once again offering free men’s wellbeing services to Mancs for Movember 2024 Danny Jones
The Lowry Hotel in Salford is doing its bit for this year’s Movember initiative by offering free men’s health and wellbeing services to local blokes.
It’s not just about the ‘tache, you know.
Yes, returning for Movember 2024, The Lowry is once again hosting a number of male-targeted events and open sessions for men in the city centre and across Greater Manchester to do some much-needed checking in, get their moustaches trimmed and more.
Teaming up with their in-house spa and fitness studio RE:TREAT for another slate of Movember events, they’re hoping to welcome local lads not only for key health scans but maybe open them up to trying something new.
After a successful month this time last year, The Lowry and RE:TREAT have doubled down with their Movember schedule, including everything from free facial hair grooming to their top-of-the-line cryotherapy sessions and even ‘broga’.
Yes, that is bro-yoga because god knows we love a little title to hook us sometimes.
While all of these are really worthwhile events and options – especially when it comes to keeping the mo’ trimmed and proper for the month – but, more importantly, they’re also inviting blokes in for some vital health sessions, both physically and mentally.
As well as offering free testicular scans (which you should aim to do once every month so) but they’re also hosting a wellness circle with Mandem Meetup, a grassroots men’s mental health charity here in the UK that align perfectly with the ideals of Movember.
While issues like testicular and prostate cancer awareness are crucial to the work that the annual month-long ‘shave and raise’ tries to promote, a key cornerstone of Movember is men’s mental health and suicide prevention – which is what makes contributions like The Lowry’s so valuable.
Even us here at The Manc are helping raise money for Movember this year.
Read more:
- Lauren Laverne says she has ‘so much to be grateful for’ after getting the cancer all clear
- Disposable vapes to be banned in England by next year
- A look at Embassy Village as work on Manchester’s homeless housing project begins
A number of the sessions have already happened this month but their biggest week yet is still to come as we approach the final few days of Movember, with this Friday set to close out their 2024 events.
The last round of free beard and moustache trims, testicular scans and cryotherapy slots are taking place this Friday, 29 November, along with the Mandem Meetupellness x RE:TREAT wellness circle from 10am onwards. Wholesome stuff.
Once again, all of these sessions are completely free of charge and last-minute drops-in are just as well come too; this initiative is all about giving men as much access to these services as possible.
You can find out more about timings and how to book your free cryotherapy slots, specifically, HERE. And Movember or not if you’ve ever been interested in seeing what the in-house spa destination at The Lowry Hotel is like, look no further…
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Featured Images – Supplied/The Lowry