Harm due to alcohol use is a leading threat to public health globally, and a key barrier to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3.5 (“Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol”)(1). Increasingly alcohol use is recognised as a salient risk factor for Gender-Based Violence, especially intimate partner violence.
In South Africa, 31% of the population drink and among these drinkers, almost 60% drink heavily (1). The World Health Organisation’s Global Strategy to Reduce Harmful Use of Alcohol recommends examining alcohol availability (alcohol outlet density, and outlet trading times) as a driver of alcohol use and its related harms. This brief presents findings from the co-led SAMRC1 -SAAPA2 study which aimed to test the feasibility of a participatory mapping approach, working with selected community members in two identified communities to map alcohol availability (alcohol outlet density, and outlet trading times), and to investigate the associations between alcohol availability and gender-based violence (IPV and NPSV).
The brief is intended for a wide audience, including people working in public health, those working in local and national alcohol policy; policymakers, researchers; civil society groups; and community groups. It is based on a larger study report which can be found here.