Mitchell’s Plain bar and shebeen owners took part in a dialogue at Premium Sports Bar, in Westridge, on Saturday November 28 as part of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign.
The dialogues were held at 10 taverns in Gugulethu, Delft and Mitchell’s Plain – in an attempt to reach men and change the behaviour of those who abuse women and children.
The dialogues were facilitated by subject matter experts and were designed to educate and equip men to drive positive change in their communities.
The initiative was a partnership between Distell and various groups of liquor traders.
Lucky Ntimane, convenor of the liquor trader forums, said:
“Taverns are social and economic hubs of township communities and have an important role to play in upholding community values and promoting responsible drinking.”
Advocate Leatitia Petersen, acting chief executive officer for the Western Cape Liquor Authority, commended the efforts of the National Liquor Traders Council to reduce the harms caused by liquor in aiming to create safer, more cohesive communities.
“The national lockdown and liquor ban have clearly demonstrated the role that liquor plays in the high rates of violence in this province.
“It is crucial that licence holders comply with their liquor licence conditions and the National Disaster Management Regulations to ensure responsible liquor trading and consumption,” she said.
Sholto Simms, Distell regional general manager for the Western Cape, said genderbased violence and femicide perpetuate trauma across generations, resulting in broken homes, shattered lives and the destruction of human potential.
He also called on all South Africans to not forget about the battle against Covid-19.
“We need to stay vigilant and ensure basic regulations are followed. Please ensure extreme care and compliance are followed when visiting shopping malls and shopping centres, social grant pay-out venues, places of worship, health care facilities and any other social and business gathering facilities.
“Let’s exercise extreme care in hygiene and social distance compliance – together we can beat both gender-based violence and femicide and Covid-19,” said Mr Simms.
