The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has recommended that government look at further regulations around the sale of alcohol in South Africa in response to its high levels of gender-based violence.<\/p>\n
The commission, which is set to present a webinar on its findings on Thursday (12 November), said that the country needs to have a ‘sober discussion’ around alcohol and substance abuse as contributing factors in gender-based violence.<\/p>\n
Some of its key recommendations include:<\/p>\n
“The commission is convinced that the deliberations from the Webinar will assist the country in developing appropriate policy and programme interventions to address alcohol and substance abuse as contributing factors in gender-based violence,” it said.<\/p>\n
Western Cape restrictions\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The recommendations align closely with proposals made by the Western Cape government which is also considering further regulations around the sale of alcohol.<\/p>\n Premier Alan Winde told the Western Cape Legislature in October that the Western Cape has \u201ca deadly relationship with alcohol that must be urgently addressed\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOur department of health\u2019s data showed that when alcohol was banned during the Hard Lockdown and subsequent restrictions, trauma cases in our hospitals came down notably,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as the sale of alcohol was allowed again, the number of trauma cases increased almost by the same percentage. The causality is as clear as day.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that the Western Cape Government will propose major amendments to the Western Cape Liquor Act, with these changes to be \u2018fast-tracked as an urgent priority\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cAs part of these amendments, I can announce that we have now put\u00a0\u2018per-unit-of-alcohol\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0pricing firmly on the table for consideration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will make it more expensive to buy alcoholic beverages with higher alcohol percentages; an approach which evidence suggests can be effective in preventing binge drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n Winde said that the province will\u00a0also consider\u00a0stricter times<\/strong>\u00a0for the sale of alcohol, even after the expiry of the National State of the Disaster regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cThis tougher approach must be matched with incentives for liquor outlets who do follow the rules, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt also requires that we make it less burdensome for unlicensed vendors to become compliant, so that we can eradicate the illegal sale of alcohol in our communities. We must have the courage to get the job done on alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n Winde\u2019s comment comes after the Western Cape\u2019s minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, said that his provincial department plans to make\u00a0amendments<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to the Western Cape Liquor Act.<\/p>\n Fritz said his department has been tasked with amending the act as a part of its a plan to halve the murder rate in the province over the next 10 years. The amendments are further aligned with premier Winde\u2019s Smart Interventions aimed at reducing alcohol related harms (ARH), he said.<\/p>\n Fritz said that the province is looking to introduce the following changes:<\/p>\n\n
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