12 out of every 100 people in Kenya drink alcohol and also four out of every 100 deaths in 2016 were caused by alcohol according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO). Among the prevalent cases of alcohol abuse, the majority of the victims are minors. With such alarming alcoholism statistics, the society, family, and the individuals are adversely affected. In this article, I will discuss the social effects of alcoholism in Kenya.
How Alcohol Impacts the Individual, Family, and Society
Majority of the heavy drinkers are students as well as the working class especially those in the age bracket 25-35 years. What alcohol does is reduce their working productivity and students are unable to perform optimally thus leading to lower grades. Of course, continuous alcohol use will do your body no good, your health will be at stake. As a result, you cannot perform at the alertness a sober person portrays.
Families who have experienced children, adults, or close relative drinking alcohol are likely to suffer from anxiety caused by the behaviour of the alcoholics. Also, such families are never happy and never thrive due to the stress they are brought. The society at large is also affected by alcoholics in that they might end up causing unnecessary fights in public disrupting peace and harmony. They also behave in unacceptable ways, for example, calling people unpleasant names and getting involved in silly arguments.
Role of Alcohol in Domestic Violence
Domestic violence occurs either by physical, verbal, psychological torture caused by an alcoholic to their partners and at times children. Children of alcoholic parents suffer negligence and lack of parental love. Such kids also experience abusive language from the parents who would otherwise be their role models. An alcoholic might cause fights, use abusive language, intimidate their loved ones and also use coercive behaviour towards them or even cause rape. This shows that under the influence of alcohol, an addict tends to cause pain to those close to them. Most victims suffer in silence since they fear what might happen to them if they report such cases to authorities.
Role of Alcohol in College and Campus Assaults
Alcohol use is on the rise in colleges and campuses in Kenya. The nature of campus life is partying all the time since young adults have minimum supervision from their seniors. The alarming rate at which alcohol is consumed answers the question of endless cases of sexual assaults in campus and colleges. Here are some statistics;
– Of all the sexual assaults that happen on campus, 50 per cent of them are a result of alcohol influence
– 43 per cent of rapes caused by friends of the victim are caused by alcohol;
– In all cases of sexual assault, 43 percent of the victims are influenced by alcohol, while 69 percent of the perpetrators are under the influence of alcohol
– In one-third of sexual assaults on campus, the perpetrator is intoxicated.
The above statistics show that alcohol is a major cause of the college and campus sexual assaults.
The Cost of Alcohol to the Nation, and the Workplace
Unfortunately, the strong people who should be working towards building the nation are mostly heavy drinkers. In this regard, the economy lags since alcoholism has resulted in low productivity. In the workplace, we find absenteeism at high levels as the alcoholics are unable to report to work as needed. Today there is presenteeism too whereby the alcoholics report to work intoxicated thus they underperform. Alcoholism is a burden to the nation which is forced to look for solutions like rehabs and campaigns against excessive alcohol consumption. All this come at a cost of national resources. Similarly, road accidents, drowning, and other fatal accidents caused by alcoholism impact the nation negatively. It’s an extra cost to the nation which has to invest some money in getting solutions.