Children petition parliament over alcohol consumption

Jun 28, 2017

“Alcohol abuse is a significant problem among the youth today and it has been identified as a risk factor for perpetuation of youth violence such as bullying, sexual aggression and other assaults

Children from various schools have petitioned parliament to stop the high rate of consumption of alcohol by underage children.

The young people were coordinated by Straight Talk Foundation to meet the Speaker of Parliament on Friday.

In their statement, they asked parliament to enact a stringent law to stop consumption of alcohol by young people.

“Alcohol abuse is a significant problem among the youth today and it has been identified as a risk factor for perpetuation of youth violence such as bullying, sexual aggression and other assaults,” they stated in the petition.

They made reference to the recent study by Uganda Youth Development Link which indicates that 46% of the youth aged between 12 and 18 years take alcohol and 42% had had unprotected sex under the influence of alcohol.

“Although the law clearly states that alcohol should not be sold to persons under 18 years, we the young people have observed easily access to alcohol in places like kiosks, supermarkets, hotels, at parties and in the community. If strict laws are not enacted against underage alcohol consumption, it could hinder the country’s social-economic development,” the petitioners argued.

They raised concern over teachers and parents misusing alcohol in the presence of children and therefore fail to set good examples for them.

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