National Minister of Police Bheki Cele has called on patrons to use alcohol socially and not as a tool to abuse others.
Addressing a tavern dialogue at the Rands in Khayelitsha, on Thursday 18 August, Cele urged men to also not take women as commodities
The tavern dialogues are designed to educate and equip men to drive a positive change in their communities.
Cele also used the opportunity as a call for proper education on how to use alcohol responsibly.
“Men must know that when they buy alcohol for a woman, that doesn’t mean she has to pay with her body. Women are also fully fledged human beings and should not be treated like pets,” he said.
Cele said the presence of alcohol should not be a curse to make women suffer.
“Patrons should know they drink alcohol to enjoy themselves only and not shoot and kill others. We also call on you as tavern owners to do your business with respect, by respecting your neighbour and family,” he said, and stressed the importance of family support for the victims of crime, especially rape.
According to Cele, 10 000 women were raped in the country in three months and 50% of those incidents took place in their homes.
Co-operative Affairs Head at Distell SA Jolene Henn, partners in the dialolgues, said they don’t condone any form of alcohol abuse and gender-based violence (GBV).
She said as the industry they also cannot take the blame for GBV taking place as this is a deep-seated social issue.
“As the industry we are also working with government in trying to fight this scourge. We also have forums where we speak to men in tavern and engaging them on issues of GBV,” she said.
Henn said they have visited about 100 taverns in the Western Cape in areas such as Khayelitsha, Delft and Nyanga.
Lucky Ntimane, Convener of National Liqour Traders, said with the high number of unemployed in the country, tavern owners were making “an honest living”.
“Please give licenses to those deserving tavern owners. They want to work and sell alcohol freely,” he said.