UNDERAGE DRINKING PLAYS A ROLE IN SEXUAL VIOLATION OF TEENAGERS

Friday, 29 January 2010 08:01

Teenage alcohol abuse is a huge problem in South Africa Each year more and more young people become statistics as underage drinking is increasingly becoming an acceptable part of daily life. The physical and psychological effects of drinking on young people are devastating. “Of particular concern to Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) is the number of teenagers that seek help at crisis centres, clinics and police with symptoms of sexual violence, physical abuse, STD's and pregnancy and where these have occurred in situations where they themselves have been drinking,” says Miranda Friedmann, director of WMACA. Many of the times, acts of sexual violence occur when the young victim is out partying with boys their own age or older men who view them as soft targets. The opportunity usually arises when they are separated from their friends or when they leave the party and make their way home. “We are extremely worried about the high levels of teenage drinking at the end of exams,” says Friedmann. Binge drinking to relieve exam stress is not confined to matric learners and tertiary education students but also to learners from as early as Grade 10 onwards. This has been observed at some of WMACA’s Kidz Clinics where there is a trend for `ukugeza ama ball pen, translated as `washing pens’ where school children get drunk on the last day of exams.  “This seems to be the main form of entertainment despite many other recreational options that are available.  Friedmann continues: “This form of stress relieving stretches from Sandton, Melville and the other Northern and Eastern suburbs of Johannesburg to Soweto and Orange Farm. Teenage drinking may be the result of poor role models or parents who spend their Christmas bonuses on alcohol. It is also closely associated with parental neglect. One of the cases that was reported to WMACA’s East Rand Kidz Clinic occurred during December 2009 when a 15-year old girl went to visit her sister and fiancé. They then joined the fiancé at his home where he had a braai with his cousin and friends. The girl ended up having a lot to drink, got drunk at the braai, and then went to find a bed to lie down. She was followed by a 35-year old cousin who raped her. The victim fell pregnant; a case was opened and she has subsequently decided to undergo an abortion. The case is both with the police and our clinic. Another example took place at the WMACA Kidz Clinic in Orange Farm. Two young girls decided to go partying after exams, lying to their mothers that they were each staying overnight at each other’s homes. However they went from party to party, consuming various amounts and types of alcohol, and at one of these parties they were separated and unfortunately one of the girls got raped. WMACA, in no way,  puts any BLAME on these young girls that were sexually abused but we do want to stress that the consumption of alcohol makes them easy targets and largely defenceless against sexual predators. In South Africa statistics show that 25% of teenagers drink because they are bored and a further 25% said drinking gets them “high” whilst 40% of teens drink because they are sad.