1,000 test bracelets against knockout drops: Speyer is actively taking action against abuse!

1,000 test bracelets against knockout drops: Speyer is actively taking action against abuse!

In a courageous initiative to raise awareness among young people about the dangers of knockout drops, around 1,000 test bracelets will be distributed in Speyer in the coming weeks. This campaign is the work of the Zonta Club Speyer-Germersheim e.V. and is to be implemented through the school social work of secondary schools until the autumn holidays. The overall goal is clear: school social workers should hand out the test bracelets and at the same time provide information about the risks of knockout drops, which are increasingly becoming a danger for young women in particular.

The paper tapes are not only a practical aid, but also an important prevention tool. A simple test procedure can be used to test whether a drink has been mixed with dangerous substances. Users simply need to stir the drink with a straw or stirrer and dab a drop onto a test field. If the field turns blue, this is an indication that knockout drops such as gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) could be in play. This substance leads to impaired consciousness within a very short time and can be fatal for the victims as perpetrators exploit the effect to commit sexual crimes.

Collaboration for security

The Zonta Club has developed a comprehensive prevention concept in collaboration with the youth employment agency Plus. President Sabina Matter-Seibel has heard first-hand reports from affected women who often suffer from shame and do not report incidents. These dark experiences and the frequent under-reporting make educational work in schools all the more necessary. The Zonta Club would like to use these test bracelets to appeal to young people and offer them practical protection, because knockout drops represent a growing danger.

The tapes will also be distributed in other cities, including Germersheim, Neustadt/Weinstraße, Bad Bergzabern and Karlsruhe, all financed by the local Zonta clubs. This means that not only the students in Speyer, but also the young people in the region are well informed and protected.

Education and prevention

However, the free distribution of test bracelets is not the only step towards greater security. School social workers are trained to develop strategies for safe party evenings and to work with young people to raise awareness of the dangers. This also includes raising awareness among parents and involving boys in prevention work. Information sheets on how to use the bracelets should make handling easy and understandable.

For all those who want to protect themselves, in addition to the free test bracelets, there are also special lids that prevent knockout drops from getting into drinks unnoticed. Many bars and discos are also responding to the increasing number of incidents and are now offering their own test kits. The trend is clearly towards raising awareness and education in order to address this serious problem from multiple angles.

The situation is serious. Knockout drops are often used in crime contexts, as a recent international study on the misuse of knockout drops shows, which further underlines the explosiveness of the topic. It is time for young people and those around them to actively address the risks and protect themselves - because there is really a lot at stake here.

The test bracelets retail for around two euros and are available in drugstores. In order to shed more light on the whole topic, new studies and programs are constantly being launched that deal with the topic of knockout drops.