As South Africa prepares for the Easter holidays, the Hold My Hand campaign and Rethink Your Drink are urging the public to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and teenagers during a period often associated with increased alcohol-related harm.
While Easter is traditionally a time for families to come together, statistics show that risks linked to alcohol misuse, road traffic incidents and water-related accidents often increase during holiday periods. In South Africa, where approximately 43% of people who consume alcohol engage in binge drinking, the impact frequently affects children the most.
“Every day, 3,000 children are born in South Africa, and their future depends on the safety and stability we provide,” says Mesuli Kama, Network Mobilisation Lead at Hold My Hand. “The National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children prioritises protecting children from all forms of abuse, violence, injuries and harmful substances. This Easter, we must recognise our collective responsibility to create a safer environment for every child.”
Rethink Your Drink, an initiative of the DG Murray Trust, highlights the broader societal impact of heavy drinking, noting that alcohol-related harm contributes significantly to injuries, disease and family instability.
“Alcohol is often seen as part of the holiday atmosphere, but for many children heavy drinking by adults leads to neglect, trauma and sometimes physical harm,” says Kashifa Ancer, Campaign Manager at Rethink Your Drink. “By choosing sobriety or moderation, especially when driving or supervising children, South Africans can actively help create safer environments for young people.”
The campaigns encourage families and communities to consider simple steps to help reduce risk during the holiday period:
• Ensure drivers are completely sober and that all passengers wear seatbelts
• Never leave children unattended near pools, rivers or the sea
• Avoid alcohol consumption during pregnancy
• Use the holiday period to spend meaningful time with children in safe environments
Hold My Hand and Rethink Your Drink continue to advocate for broader structural changes aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm throughout the year. Proposed policy interventions include restrictions on alcohol advertising, minimum unit pricing and limitations on liquor trading hours.
Hold My Hand is a national social mobilisation campaign supporting the National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children, a collaborative effort between the Presidency and the DG Murray Trust to prioritise the wellbeing of children and teenagers across South Africa.
Rethink Your Drink is an alcohol harm reduction campaign that promotes evidence-based policy change and encourages healthier social norms to reduce the impact of alcohol misuse on families and communities.
