One of the areas being placed under the spotlight is alcohol consumption. The President has directed the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, together with other government departments, to develop a plan to address liquor consumption and reduce alcohol-related violence.

And the link between alcohol and violence is one that demands closer attention. South Africa’s first National Gender-Based Violence Study found that 35.5% of women aged 18 and older have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime,  that’s an estimated 7.85 million women. The study also found that almost one in four women had experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, while heavy drinkers were almost twice as likely to have perpetrated such violence.

We unpack the relationship between alcohol abuse and violence and what meaningful intervention could look like with the Campaign Manager for Rethink Your Drink, Kashifa Ancer.