Drink spikers are sad men trying to compensate for their own inadequacies

The case of Gisèle Pelicot, whose bravery in taking on her rapists in court was outstanding and inspirational, should mark a turning point in human history (“Why Gisèle Pelicot should have been named Person of the Year”, Tuesday 31 December).

Alongside her ordeal, there has been an alarming rise in incidents of spiking in bars and clubs, because it seems that some enfeebled men have got it into their minds that drugging women so that they can have their way with them isn’t the most pathetic and shameful thing that they could possibly do.

These lacklustre losers, who appear to be trying to carve out a “third way” between rape and necrophilia, represent a dismal trend which, alas, we can never now scrub from the record, but which we should at least seek to leave behind for evermore.

Some men – and I’m looking particularly at the Tate brothers and their followers here, but they’re sadly far from alone – feel the need to develop a culture in which they can subjugate and dehumanise women, presumably to compensate for their own manifest inadequacies. This cannot be tolerated.

Real men need to stand alongside women and call out these archaic, misogynistic attitudes whenever and wherever they encounter them, and to treat those who espouse them with the contempt and derision that they so richly deserve.

Any man who seeks to control what women say or do, to limit their opportunities and life choices, or to intimidate them when they are out and about in public, is in truth no man at all. Let us hope this new year heralds a new age, and that humanity collectively stands up and says: “No more.”

Julian Self

Milton Keynes. Buckinghamshire

Alex Ross reports that six people were killed in e-scooter crashes in 2023, but in the same year, 87 pedal cyclists died, according to the Department of Transport (“E-scooter safety calls after six die in crashes last year”, Monday 30 December).

I’ve seen the chaos on Indian roads, where you must also navigate around bull and carts, and holy cows. Can we not simply require all road users to show a registration sign, or wear one, pass a Highway Code test, have some form of insurance and require all power-driven vehicles to have a regular MOT?

Kartar Uppal

Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

The government’s forthcoming welfare reforms will seek to cut spending (“Labour gives update on 2025 sickness and disability benefits overhaul”, Wednesday 1 January).

The impetus for this is the belief that the numbers not working and not seeking jobs are at an all-time high. But the Labour Force survey on which this belief is based has a catastrophically low response rate – about 20 per cent.

As ONS points out, and a House of Commons review confirms, “we advise caution in using this data”. The numbers not working may, in fact, be nothing like as high as the government seems to think. Unfortunate, if vulnerable, families who can’t work and need the money may be denied help because the government has relied on inadequate data.

Peter Taylor-Gooby OBE

Canterbury, Kent

At the close of a turbulent year bedevilled with weather hazards due to human-induced atmospheric instability – a portend of irreversible climate change – it is difficult to react positively to news that executives will get even more perks the more they fly (“British Airways overhauls loyal customer perks – but some frequent flyers are annoyed”, Tuesday 31 December).

Perhaps more impressive would be if British Airways and other airlines were to offer as well, the choice of opting for carbon offsetting and other means of mitigating the damage of polluting the atmosphere by flying around the globe?

Ian Reid

Kilnwick, Yorkshire

Can we start a campaign to get the guys with pneumatic hammers to start updating Mount Rushmore? With his piggy eyes on immortality, US president-elect Donald Trump has made clear he wants to be carved out there.

But now there is a great alternative in Jimmy Carter. He may not have been a great president but as a thoroughly decent and honest politician – essentially, a “good” man – who better to remind posterity that there are other values than brashness and being self-serving?

Alastair Duncan

Bozburun, Turkey

It is surely serendipitous that the first letter in The Independent on the first day of Dry January is from a place called Soberton (“Let’s have less charisma and more honesty in 2025”, Tuesday 31 December).

Thanks to David Lowndes for making me smile – and good luck to old hands like me (32 days last year) and all the newbies giving it a go. Cheers!

Robert Boston

Kings Hill, Kent