Britain’s Home Secretary James Cleverly has apologized for joking about spiking his wife’s drink with a date-rape drug.

According to a report in British tabloid the Sunday Mirror, Cleverly made the joke to female guests while attending a Downing Street reception earlier this month.

According to the paper, Cleverly — a senior minister in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government — said that adding “a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night” was “not really illegal if it’s only a little bit.”

He reportedly added that the secret to a long marriage was to ensure your spouse was “someone who is always mildly sedated so she can never realize there are better men out there.” His comments came on the same day that Cleverly vowed to strengthen British laws on the growing epidemic of drink spiking in the U.K., according to the Mirror.

A spokesman for Cleverly said, “In what was always understood as a private conversation, James, the Home Secretary tackling spiking, made what was clearly meant to be an ironic joke — for which he apologizes.”

The comments have stirred controversy among women’s rights groups and prompted calls for his resignation.

Opposition Labour politician and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper wrote on X: “Spiking is a serious and devastating crime.

“Truly unbelievable that the Home Secretary in charge of tackling violence against women and girls could think it OK to make jokes like this. How can victims trust him to take this vile crime seriously?”

The Fawcett Society, a women’s advocacy group, described the comments as “sickening.” “No wonder women don’t feel safe. We know that ‘banter’ is the excuse under which misogyny is allowed to thrive. How can we trust him to seriously address violence against women and girls? We deserve better than this from our lawmakers and Cleverly should resign,” Fawcett Society chief executive Jemima Olchawski said.

Women’s Aid, an organization which aims to tackle domestic violence in the U.K., said: “We rely on political leaders to take action to end violence against women and girls, and the misogyny that underpins it.

“It is vital that spiking survivors see ministers treating the subject seriously and not downplaying the reality so many women face.”

Britain has been facing a rising epidemic of spiking incidents. Between May 2022 and April 2023, there were 6,732 reports of spiking in England and Wales.(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【下药】xiàyào spiking the act of adding a drug to someone's drink to make them unconscious, extremely tired, or unable to function normally

【嘲讽的】cháofěng de ironic using words that suggest the opposite of what you intend, usually in order to be humorous

英国内政大臣詹姆斯•克莱弗利开玩笑说自己在妻子喝的酒里加了约会强奸药，然后被迫道歉。

英国小报《星期日镜报》报道称，克莱弗利本月早些时候出席唐宁街招待会时对女宾开了这个玩笑。

克莱弗利在首相里希•苏纳克的保守党内阁担任高官。《镜报》援引克莱弗利的话说，“每晚在她的酒里加一点氟硝西泮，如果只是一点点，其实并不违法。”

他还补充说，长久婚姻的秘诀是确保配偶“总有点迷迷瞪瞪，这样她就永远不知道外面有更好的男人”。

据《镜报》报道，就在他发表这番言论的同一天，克莱弗利还发誓要要收紧英国法律，打击英国日益猖獗的饮料下药现象。

克莱弗利的发言人说：“作为内政大臣，监管饮料下药的确是他职责所在，但詹姆斯一直认为发表这番言论的场合属于私人谈话，他开了一个明显带有讽刺意味的玩笑，现在他为此道歉。”

这番言论在女权组织中引起了争议，并引发了要求他辞职的呼声。

反对党工党政治家、影子内阁内政大臣伊维特•库珀在社交媒体X上写道： “给饮料下药是一种带来严重后果的罪行。负责处理暴力侵害妇女和女童问题的内政大臣竟然认为可以开这样的玩笑，简直难以置信。受害者怎么能相信他会认真对待这种卑鄙的罪行呢？”

妇女权益组织福塞特协会说这种言论“令人作呕”。

福塞特协会首席执行官杰迈玛•奥尔恰夫斯基说：“难怪女性没有安全感。我们知道，‘开玩笑’是放任厌女症的借口。怎么能相信他会认真解决针对妇女和女孩的暴力问题？我们的议员要以身作则。克莱弗利应该辞职。”

旨在解决英国家庭暴力问题的组织 “ 妇女援助”说：“我们指望政治领导人采取行动，制止针对妇女和女孩的暴力，以及这种现象背后的厌女症。曾被下药的她们希望看到部长们认真对待这个问题，而不是轻描淡写很多妇女面临的现实困扰，这一点很重要。”

英国一直面临在饮料里下药的问题。据报道，2022年5月至2023年4月期间，英格兰和威尔士共报告了6732起饮料下药事件。

(Translated by Debra)