I collapsed & woke up in hospital terrified when my drink was spiked but blamed myself, says Love Island’s Sharon Gaffka

thesun.co.uk:

SHARON GAFFKA’s life changed for ever when she went for lunch with a group of girlfriends to mark the end of lockdown. The Love Islander ended up in hospital after her drink was spiked and she collapsed unconscious in the restaurant toilets.

At first, she feared she’d be judged if she spoke out. But she has been so shaken by her ordeal, and the stories of other young women who have been victims of spiking, that she has now thrown herself into campaigning for a change in the law.

Sharon, 26, says: “I was so ashamed about what happened to me that I never intended to speak about it. There is so much victim shaming and I didn’t want other people to judge me. “But I have this platform now where around 90 per cent of my following is young women, and last year there were stories coming out about spikings by injection. “I thought if I could normalise sharing our stories, more women might feel empowered to come forward and then we could actually challenge the perpetrators.” ‘Hyper-anxious’ Her ordeal happened in July 2020 — she had drunk only a few glasses of wine and was “completely sober”, but friends became concerned when she did not return from the toilet.

She says: “The last thing I remember was having a drink in my hand, and after that I have no memory whatsoever. “I went to the bathroom but didn’t come back so two of my friends went to find me.