Kortrijk (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Police in Kortrijk arrested 5 people, including 3 bar owners, for drink spiking. Between 2021 and 2024, at least 41 women were drugged and assaulted. TV host, Ella Leyers, criticised victim-blaming and called for stronger laws.
Police in Kortrijk arrested 5 people, including 3 bar owners, who are suspected of being involved in drink spiking. Ella Leyers, a TV host, said that this is disturbing because it means that you can’t trust bars and clubs to be safe.
She mentioned that even if you are careful and look out for yourself, it doesn’t matter if the bar owners are involved in the crime. She said the fact that bar owners are among the people arrested shows how big this problem is, and it makes people wonder how common drink spiking is in the nightlife industry.
How can Kortrijk’s spiking cases lead to stronger protections?
Leyers talked about solutions for drink spiking. She said it is not easy to find answers. One problem is that giving harsher punishments is hard because prisons are full. This makes it tough to stop future crimes with stricter laws. She suggested that having more women in politics could help bring attention to these issues. Women’s safety would get more focus.
Leyers stated,
“Spiking is rape, and the fact that you are not raped as a woman after spiking is only because the perpetrator did not succeed.”
Leyers also mentioned spiking should be seen as serious as rape. She explained that drugging someone without consent is a form of sexual violence. This case has started talks about needing stronger laws, better enforcement, and changes that focus on keeping potential victims safe instead of just reacting after a crime happens.
“And the more you hear such stories, the more you watch out,”
says Leyers.
“It also causes people to isolate themselves more and more from each other. The informality is, therefore, endangered, and that is a great pity.”
Between 2021 and 2024, a large spiking case was discovered in Kortrijk, Belgium. At least 41 women were drugged with ketamine and then sexually assaulted or raped. Most of these crimes happened in the Burgemeester Reynaertstraat area, a popular nightlife spot.
Many victims mentioned that they were given drinks, often almond-flavored shots. After drinking them, they blacked out and later realized they had been assaulted. The investigation started in May 2023 when 7 women first reported what happened to them. This led the police to look deeper into the case. More victims came forward, and the case became bigger.
In October 2024, the police searched several locations and arrested 4 suspects. Only 2 of them remained under investigation. One of them was already wearing an electronic bracelet for another crime. Another suspect was released under conditional.
According to Ella Leyers, victims are often asked questions like “What were you wearing?” or “Did you watch your drink?” instead of focusing on the fact that someone drugged and assaulted them. She said that this case has started a discussion about violence against women, the need to make it harder to drug people, and how both the government and society need to make places safer for women.
“You can stand at the bar with your hand on your pint, but if the bar owners are in on the plot, the damage has already been done.”
Ella Leyers
