The National:

THE "spiking by injection" stories that have emerged in recent days are enough to make you weep.

Police are investigating a number of alleged incidents of women being targeted in Scottish pubs and clubs.

The alleged incidents are said to have occurred in venues in Glasgow, Dundee in Edinburgh. There are also numerous reports of women across the UK experiencing similar attacks.

READ MORE: 'Spiked by injection': Police probing separate reports across Scotland

Numerous women have told similar stories of being on a night out and suddenly developing symptoms that include an extreme feeling of intoxication, memory loss, nausea, and trouble with speech and movement.

Many claim to have found red marks on their bodies after the incident, which they believe is the result of being injected with a drug.

So, as well as all the usual turmoil that surrounds any "spiking" incident, these women must also now be panicking about the possibility of infection from a dirty needle. Some have said that they have since been for blood tests.

Understandably, these cases, which were first discussed on social media before being picked up by news outlets, have been unsettling for women to read.

They add to the already heightened awareness of the danger posed to them by men intent on harm.

Since the murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa, women have been reminded – once again – of all the many things we should do to try and keep ourselves safe. There’s too many to list here. But you know them already.

Amidst all that advice we overlook a simple and brutal truth: these measures don’t actually keep us safe. All they do is put the onus on women to change their behaviour and curtail their freedoms.

It was heartening earlier in the week to see Police Scotland’s latest campaign, which aims to redress that balance. Their "Don’t Be That Guy" video went viral, and won plaudits from women’s rights campaigners for the way in which it directs men to reflect on their own behaviour.

The National:

As more details of the injection spiking story emerge, there have been calls from some campaigners across the UK to stage a national boycott of clubs and bars.

Those in favour of the move want venues to do more to protect their customers. They say they are sick of doing everything they have been told to do: covering their drinks, not leaving their drinks unattended, not accepting drinks from strangers, only to now be faced with a new variant of the threat in the form of direct injection.

I’m not convinced that women staying home in this way would have the intended outcome, but I applaud those young women for trying to increase awareness of the issue and make their voices heard. As ever, there is no one solution.

I’ve written before about the ever-evolving threat of men’s violence. Some of these crimes, particularly those that are technology based, such as the sharing of intimate images, may seem new.

READ MORE: 'Frustration, horror and anger must lead to a total policing overhaul'

Spiking by injection is not something we’ve come across on this apparent scale before. But these "new" horrors are all rooted in inequality and a man’s violent intent to exercise power and control.

Women who want to go out and dance and drink with their friends shouldn’t have to prepare themselves beforehand as if they are heading into battle.

They shouldn’t, as we heard from one young woman this week, have to choose clothes based on how difficult it would be for a needle to penetrate the fabric.

They should be thinking about how much fun they’re going to have, not how best to protect themselves from those who are determined to harm them.