Lithuania’s social media space has been buzzing with stories of spiked drinks in a popular Vilnius club, Opium. The owners reject all accusations.
LRT.lt spoke to several victims – their names have been changed to protect their identities.
Brigita, who previously worked at Opium, said she remembered an incident when a woman was visibly intoxicated.
“We gave her water, but it didn’t help. Then I said we should call an ambulance, but there is an understanding among staff that if it’s a girl, she is just handed over to the senior management,” said Brigita. “Supposedly, they take care of them, but I have never seen them leave during an event. I have no idea what happens next because they are just taken backstage.”
However, she has never herself seen the women being led backstage. “All I know is that the club is covering it up as much as they can,” Brigita said.
Another witness, Ana, recalled an incident outside Gallery 1986, a club owned by the people behind Opium. As she was leaving the club, Ana noticed one of the security staff dragging a heavily intoxicated man.
“There were people around, but nobody paid much attention. I walked up to the guard and said: ‘What are you doing? The man needs help.’ But I was told that he just needed to lie down and it would be sorted out,” said Ana.
The intoxicated man was in his early 20s, unconscious, seemingly foaming at the mouth. Ana called an ambulance and was subsequently told she would never get into the club again.
“I quickly ran to get some water. [...] When I came back, the guard was standing at the door. I realised that the man had been dragged somewhere. I went to look for him. [...] I found the guy by the garages,” she said.
According to Ana, a group of people gathered around them, and the security guard came over to swear at her. Finally, the ambulance arrived.
“The medics said it was good that I had called because this guy had severe poisoning. When the security staff and other people saw that the ambulance was coming, they all walked away,” said Ana.
She was also surprised by the reaction of the other people gathered around them, who told her she was causing trouble.
Opium club manager: accusations are false
Karolis Šlikas, the manager of the nightclub Opium, claims that stories about intoxicated women being taken backstage are “fairy tales”.
“Our staff is trained what to do, how to recognise people who are unwell,” he said.
The backstage, he said, was where the artists wait for their turn to perform and rest. The room is just two square metres in size, according to Šlikas.
Kotryna, one of the women who spoke to LRT.lt, said that people on VIP lists can also enter backstage, as well as select women.
According to Šlikas, if the accusations were real, they would have been made public before.
“Since the snowball has gathered momentum, now all the dirt is being poured [on the club],” he added.
The club’s manager also said that an internal investigation would be carried out into the incident at Gallery 1986. The manager stressed that the security staff provide assistance.
“[Regarding the foam] this is the first time I am hearing this. But in any case, we try to bring water all the time if a person is unwell, to ask them if they have been hurt, if they have a phone and can return home,” Šlikas said.
The club issued two statements – on Sunday and Tuesday. The latter said the club has met with police representatives to talk about further cooperation.
Kotryna: women are being silenced
Kotryna said that her former partner Rolandas [name changed] is a well-connected DJ and a promoter. According to her, he also exploits women.
“When he no longer gets what he wants, either sex or money, [he gets] violent, he knows how to use the girls’ traumas,” she said. “He aimed to find girls who were anorexic, depressed, or sexually abused. He has been doing this for five years and knows how to abuse them.”
Kotryna also said she was subjected to physical violence. If any of his alleged victims tried to complain, Kotryna said, he would “start a campaign of slander” among mutual friends.
According to her, she saw some support in the community, with one club in Vilnius banning Rolandas from playing there.
Kotryna said the victims did not turn to police due to intimidation. It’s also difficult to prove abuse if there are no obvious physical injuries, she added.
“I received free legal advice through the Women’s Crisis Centre. They have explained to me that if he threatens me, but the wording does not correspond to assault or something like that, [...] then there is nothing I can do legally,” Kotryna said.
Police spokesperson Ramūnas Matonis told LRT.lt that the police previously received two reports of alleged spiking at the Opium club.
“The police urge people who have been victims of any kind of abuse to contact the police and report any information they have,” Matonis said in a written statement.
According to him, victims should immediately seek medical attention. Hospitals would then inform the police if there are signs of crime.
If a person has not contacted the medics, then he or she should call the police, Matonis said. Law enforcement will then refer the person to the medics to conduct blood and urine tests.
“If there are signs of other crimes like sexual assault, a body examination will be carried out to identify the injuries and other signs of violence,” Matonis added.
Gender-based violence
Daiva Baranauskė, founder of the Frida Foundation, a non-governmental organisation working with women and young people, stressed that violence against women is not limited to clubs and bars.
“Our outgoing Seimas [parliament] was afraid to include gender issues in laws protecting against domestic violence. For some reason, people associate the word ‘gender’ with the LGBT issue, even though these are not the same thing. Violence against women is gender-based violence,” said Baranauskė.
Victim blaming is a widespread problem in Lithuania, she noted.
According to Baranauskė, education and communication with young people would help solve the problem. However, society still has phobias about sex education at school.
The country has so far failed to ratify the Istanbul Convention on protection against gender-based violence, which would have helped, she added.
“[The convention] is a whole set of tools that we could use in violence prevention as well as to help victims and carry out investigations,” Baranauskė said.
Law enforcement is also failing in its efforts to help curb such crimes, according to her.
“I know of a number [of investigations] where officials do not take action, especially when there is no physical violence,” Baranauskė said.
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