Chemical control
Those who spike their partner often do so for one or more of the following reasons:
- To have sex with their partner while they are asleep, unconscious or unable to consent.
- To record or photograph their partner in sexual situations and use this material later for blackmail.
- To go through the victim’s phone, computer, finances or messages while they are under the influence of the drugs.
- To keep the victim drowsy, tired and passive, making it harder to think clearly or seek help.
- To convince (gaslight) the victim that the symptoms are their own problems. The victim is just “losing memory,” is “depressed” or “crazy.”
- To make the victim fail a drug test in a custody dispute, or to make them appear unstable in front of police or health professionals.
- To hide other signs of abuse. A victim who was unconscious does not remember injuries or an assault.
- To make the victim feel they need the perpetrator to take care of them. This only works if the victim believes their symptoms are due to illness.
Spiking in a close relationship is rarely a single event. It is often repeated over months or years and intertwined with other types of abuse to form mental, sexual, physical, financial, or digital abuse.
Victims often do not realise what is happening because they trust the perpetrator.
