
Non-profit organisation, Love Life, is calling on government and the justice cluster to support programmes that capacitate young people to deter them from drugs and alcohol.
The call by the organisation’s National Manager for Health and lifestyle, Thabiso Mokwena, follows a recent study by the South African National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence (Sanca), which revealed that 26% of teens who develop a problem with alcohol are given their first drinks by family members.
The study was conducted by Sanca and Unisa on around 500 young people, between the ages of 10 to 18-year-old, who had received treatment from Sanca branches across the country.
The research teams found that men have a six to one greater chance of seeking treatment, with teens between 14- and 17-years old accounting for more patients than their 18 to 39-year-old counterparts.
The survey found that 55% of them were regular users of alcohol, 38% used marijuana and 4% experimented with methamphetamines.
Many teens began their regular use of alcohol during puberty, with 16% of respondents saying they were drinking by the age of 13.
Mokwena says these outcomes are very concerning and calls for parents to play a more on hands role in educating their children about the dangers of engaging in risky behaviour.
He says the issue that organisations like Love Life face is funding, which limits their programmes’ reach.
Mokwena highlights the dire need for educational programmes in order to prevent other cases like the Enyobeni tavern tragedy where 21 young people, the youngest being 13, died in June 2022 during post-exam celebrations in the Eastern Cape.
Sanca’s director, Sandra Pretorius, says when these conversations are being had, people need to understand that the community as a whole need to play an active role in ensuring that they make it safe for young people to seek help.
Pretorius further highlights the need for the community to protect facilities that offer refuge to young people and fight against criminality.
She called for the need for parents and communities to also be educated on how addictive medication at home can be, if misused.
Education, and community activist, Zonke Mpotulo, has also weighed in with possible solutions.
She young people’s voices need to be amplified to create an environment where they can have these conversations openly and challenge each other when engaging in unhealthy behaviours.
She says young people listen to each other more than they listen to adults.
“Adults should merely facilitate these conversations and not lecture. These conversations can happen in schools, churches, youth programmes etc. A self-liberating journey starts with being able to speak truth to power,” she explains.
“When young people are not afraid to say no and not afraid to challenge the status qou then the authentic voice comes. In this way even when they grow up in such homes or see peers engaging in alcohol, they are able to choose differently.”