Two young Australian women who believe they were drugged via needle while travelling overseas are warning other international holiday-makers to be wary.
CONTENT WARNING: This story contains graphic details of sexual assault allegations.
Molly* and Carly both believe they were sexually assaulted after being needle-spiked in bars on opposite sides of the globe.
Needle-spiking refers to the act of being unwittingly injected with a needle containing a sedative or date rape drug. Reports suggest it usually occurs in a crowded place like a nightclub or festival.
There is no official data on needle-spiking incidents in Australia or of Australians overseas.
However, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has acknowledged it does occur and has recently added references to needle-spiking alongside drink-spiking in its advice for overseas travel.
Molly believes she was spiked with a needle in a bar on the Greek island of Ios in July 2022.
"I just remember standing in the crowd, and the lights got really bright and … I kind of felt like I was having a full out-of-body experience," Molly said.
"I couldn't move anything."
The next thing she remembers is two men holding her arms and carrying her out of the club to a car, where she was driven to a house, tied down and repeatedly raped.
Hours later, while her captors were out of the room, she escaped.
"There was something very primal that just was like, leave, immediately, you're going to die here."
Molly said she later found cuts and bruises across her body, including a puncture wound in the back of her arm. She recalls hallucinating and struggling to speak.
Molly reported the incident to the police and underwent a basic medical check at a nearby hospital.
Official reports seen by Hack note swelling and blood in her genital area, bruising and memory loss.