Universities should be required to introduce policies at the end of the year to crack down on drink and needle spikes, amid concerns about increasingly blatant attacks on students.
Michelle Donelan, the university minister, said she had seen the impact of the rise first-hand and that it was a horrible crime that she was determined to eliminate in higher education.
On Tuesday, it launched a working group, made up of vice-chancellors, police, activists and victims, to lead practical action plans to help keep students safe.
Although the true prevalence of the increase is not yet clear, police data obtained by the Commons Home Affairs Committee said 81% of registered victims were students, while a recent poll by the news site students The Tab suggested that 11% of students believed they had increased their drinking. .
Donelan wants all universities to introduce a dedicated policy to deal with the increase at the end of the year, including measures to ensure that all victims are recognized and supported.
“This is an issue that worries me a lot, to have had someone close to me when I was younger, which had devastating consequences. So I know first hand what a horrible crime this is and I am determined to eliminate it,” he said. to say.
“Recent incidents show that the perpetrators are becoming more blatant in the way they commit this heinous crime, so I call on a new working group to study the issue more closely and propose practical actions to curb the rise in our universities. ”
Several institutions have already introduced measures to better protect students, such as the University of Exeter, which offers safety test strips for beverages, and the University of Nottingham Trent, which is providing spectator intervention training for staff at night city facilities.
The government hopes that closer work between universities and the police will help provide a clearer picture of the scale and nature of attacks on students, and is also considering the case of a specific criminal offense by rioting.
Professor Lisa Roberts, vice-chancellor of the University of Exeter, who will lead the new working group, said: “Everyone has the right to be safe and to enjoy their night with friends without fear of violence or violence.
“As chair of the new working group, I will be working with partners to look at evidence, best practices and incidents across the UK so we can make practical recommendations for improving students’ night-time economics.”