With the staggering amount of sexual assaults related to drink spiking the Sip Safe wristband is the functional spearhead in the fight against predatory behaviour.

Both utility and education this simple wristband has the ability to protect the wellbeing of everyday people and stop the culture of drink spiking.

The key restriction in communications regarding drink spiking is that it can happen anywhere that people gather. It is so incredibly unpredictable and immeasurable until it has happened to someone.

After observing that young people are accustomed to wearing wristbands at festivals and other events we found inspiration to create something to help stop drink spiking.

The Sip Safe wristband detects if a drink has been spiked with drugs. The wearer simply puts a drop of their drink onto the wristband and in a short amount of time the wristband changes colour if it has been exposed to ketamine or GHB – two common drink spiking drugs.

The ability to test your own drink provides utility and the freedom of choice to the wearer. Also, wearing the Sip Safe wristband provides a visual deterrent to any would be drink spiker. The design of the wristband can incorporate the logos of any brand, nightclub or festival that provides these wristband to its patrons.

Designed specifically for Monash University the Sip Safe wristband is manufactured by Drink Safe Tech in Tallahassee, Florida USA – a company with several years commercial experience in illicit substance detection.

The wristband is functionally a strip of PH neutral paper that has been treated with chemical reagents in two specific areas. Each area reacts to the presence of one of two drugs used in drink spiking - specifically ketamine and GHB.

This thick paper strip has an adhesive on one end allowing it to fasten around the wrist. The use of thick paper allows the wristband to be economical and recyclable making it easy for venues to have a ready supply on hand.

The Sip Safe wristband was created to fit seamlessly into a youth environment and with a recognisable test design, simply wearing the Sip Safe wristband provides a visual deterrent to any would be drink spiker.

The design of the wristband can also incorporate the logos of any brand, nightclub or festival to gain greater traction and uptake in a youth environment. At present a wristband option with 3 sets of test areas is being researched for future implementation.

The results to date have been nothing short of remarkable. In the space of six months we have launched a product to some of the most vulnerable young people, begun an ongoing program around university campuses where more than 6,000 wristbands have been distributed as well as garnered international media attention.

Most importantly, in a university survey 89.5% of students now have a greater awareness of drink safety after engaging with Sip Safe.

Further survey results showed:

31.6 % knew of people who’ve had their drink spiked

78.9% Could see themselves or their friends using the wristbands.

From a commercial viewpoint, the Sip Safe wristband has been registered for a trade mark and the website’s had order enquiries from 27 countries. With this shift in scale the product developed with Monash University now has the potential to do far more good in harm minimisation for young people across the globe.

4,500 Australians have their drink spiked every year - 40% of which lead to sexual assaults. As a caretaker of young people Monash University set a brief to help educate and make their students and the wider community more aware of drink safety.

The objectives we set out to achieve were to instil young people with the ability to ensure their safety when socialising in various surroundings.

A key indicator of success was to see a change in awareness of drink safety by creating behavioural change at a key moment in life. This change in behaviour was crucial in the ultimate objective of stopping drink spiking before it happens.