More than 400 cases have been reported in France of women being jabbed by needles, usually in crowded spaces such as nightclubs.
Other countries where the same phenomenon has been witnesses are the UK, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
So far there is only one confirmed case of a substance being injected, in Spain, where a 13 year-old girl was injected with ecstasy. Her nearby parents took her to hospital after she felt the pinprick.
The authorities are investigating whether the outbreak of jabbing may be related to a dare on social media.
Spanish justice minister Pilar Llop urged everyone who is jabbed to go to the police, describing the unwanted jabbing as “a serious act of violence against women”.
FILE PHOTO: Young people at a Barcelona nightspot Reuters