'My friend's partner took us to a concert. What he did that night still haunts me.'

After a messy divorce, I hoped my best friend Aimee* would eventually meet someone amazing. So, when Matty* arrived on the scene, I truly believed this was it for her.

Our whole friendship group was swept up by the fresh and exciting romance. He adored her, he spoiled her and he seemed to appreciate her in a way that only the "right person" would.

From the very beginning, he did everything right. Grand romantic gestures became his signature move. He planned a luxury getaway and surprised her with concert tickets to see her favourite artist just days before the sold-out show.

Watch: Bartenders say drink spiking is rife and many are taking matters into their own hands. Post continues below.

As huge fans, some of us already had tickets to the concert. So, Matty insisted on hosting drinks for all of us at his house before the concert.

By this stage, we'd known him for six months and we had no reason to question his feelings for Aimee or to think he'd ever do anything to hurt her.

At the concert, Matty went to the bar and came back with a couple of drinks. As he handed Aimee hers, he said: "Here's a drink you don't need" and laughed.

At the time, I didn't think anything of it. I said bye to Aimee and Matty and left with the other girls to find our seats in a different section.

I found out later that night what happened next. After just a few sips of her drink, Aimee fell unconscious. Matty carried her to the men's bathroom and a bystander alerted paramedics and a team was called to stabilise her. Aimee received treatment and eventually regained consciousness a few hours later.

It was only weeks later that I started to think the "Here's a drink you don't need" comment was sinister.

Aimee couldn't make sense of what happened and blamed herself. In a group chat, she said: "Even though I only had a few drinks, my body wasn't functioning", putting it down to possible dehydration after a day in the sun.

But, dehydration doesn't normally render you unconscious for three hours. This was not dehydration. This was very different. Something felt wrong.

Just weeks later, as hard and fast as it had started, Matty and Aimee's relationship came to a crashing halt when Matty ended it abruptly. Rumours were soon confirmed that he'd already entered into a new relationship.

Something about this guy definitely wasn't right. The pieces came together and we suspected the drink he'd handed her that night probably wasn't "right" either.

Police were unable to obtain CCTV footage from the venue and Aimee was told that it was almost impossible to prove an offence had occurred without it. Even with blood tests, it could be claimed that Aimee herself had taken any substance found in her system.

When the offender is an intimate partner, the victim is often under the impression that they are with someone who wouldn't ever harm them. The added layer of betrayal for these victims gives the trauma a more personal and psychologically damaging element.

She was told that "cumulative evidence" was really the only way to charge offenders in suspected drink-spiking incidents. This requires multiple victims to come forward with clear statements about what occurred — a significant issue when memory and consciousness are very intentionally impaired.

The onus placed on victims in these situations is outrageous and offensive. Drink-spiking allegations need to be taken more seriously in this country given the number of reported incidents. More needs to be done to put an end to this "perfect" crime.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy.

Feature: Getty.