Legal Assistance Centre - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Legal

Assistance

Centre

Ministry of

Gender Equality and

Child Welfare

Child Care and Protection Act 3 of 2015

Children and Alcohol

Chapter 24

Underage drinking

Underage drinking is a significant problem in Namibia. To address this issue, the

Child Care and Protection Act amends the Liquor Act 6 of 1998 to make it clearer

and to cover some neglected issues.

Overview of amendments

Requires alcohol seller to request ID

Strengthens offences and penalties for fake IDs

Prohibits manufacturing of homemade alcohol by children

Prohibits

under-18s from being present in certain drinking venues

Authorises

police to confiscate alcohol from under-18s

International framework

Convention on the Rights of the Child

does not apply to alcohol directly, but alcohol use is relevant to child’s right to health.

WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol

focuses on reducing availability of alcohol to vulnerable and high-risk groups.

African Youth Charter

, which focuses on the rights of persons between the ages of 15 and 35, suggests banning ads, increasing prices of alcohol and instituting programmes aimed at prevention & cure.

Marketing of alcohol

A key concern cited by WHO

is the

marketing of alcohol to young people and adolescents. Alcohol marketing uses increasingly sophisticated advertising and promotion techniques, including:

linking alcohol brands to sports and cultural activitiessponsorships

product placements.

Namibian law does not regulate alcohol marketing.

In 2017, a WHO study reported that Namibia ranks 5th highest in Africa for per capita alcohol consumption. — ­­­­­­“Evaluating compliance with alcohol industry self-regulation in seven countries in Africa

”, Monitoring Alcohol Marketing

Practices in Africa (MAMPA) Project, 2017

Rules

on underage drinking

The

Child Care and Protection Act amends the Liquor Act

to expand and strengthen the provisions aimed at underage drinking.

This presentation does not discuss the Liquor Act as a whole, but only the amended rules aimed at preventing the use of alcohol by persons under age 18.

Terminology

“Liquor” =

any liquor, wine or beer

(excluding methylated spirit) which is at least 3% alcoholtombo or any other drink which is at least 3% alcohol

any other “drink or concoction” declared to be liquor by the Minister responsible for trade and industry

“Light liquor

” = any liquor that is no more than 16% alcohol.

“Refreshments” =non-alcoholic drinks or snack foods“Licensee

” =

a person holding a liquor licence

under the Liquor Act

Minimum drinking age

Minimum age for drinking

or possessing liquor:

It is illegal for a person under age 18 to consume, produce

, possess or import

liquor,

or to supply liquor to any other person.

Legal rules

Note that the law does not

penalise children

for buying alcohol, but only for consuming or possessing it.

The duty not to sell alcohol to minors falls on the seller.

But once a minor has

purchased alcohol, the minor would illegally

be in possession of it.

Police confiscations

A member of Nampol or municipal police

can confiscate liquor from someone

who is underage without a warrant.This applies to liquor in an opened

or unopened container.

Usual rules for seizure and forfeiture in criminal cases apply.

Sale and supply

Liquor Act:

It is illegal for any person

to sell

or supply alcohol to a person under age 18.

Overlapping rule in CCPA: It is also illegal to sell, serve or make available any alcohol product (regardless of alcohol content) to children under age 18 years at

places of entertainment where a majority of the persons in attendance are children AND the total number of people present (counting adults and children) is more than 50.

Duty to verify age

It is the

duty of the person who sells or supplies liquor

to determine the age of the customer.It is illegal to allow persons under age 18 to be present

in a licensed or unlicensed shebeen, a night club or a dance hall – unless they are with their parent, guardian or care-giver.

Duty not to endanger a child

It is illegal for any person to

sell or provide liquor to a

parent, guardian or care-giver accompanied by a child —

if that adult appears to be intoxicated OR

in any other circumstances

where there is concern about the health, safety

or well-being of the child.

Misrepresentation of an ID

Illegal for a minor to falsely misrepresent him or herself

Illegal for anyone to make a false ID

Illegal to provide an ID that can be used to get around the rules

Penalties for violating rules on underage drinking

Penalty for

adult

= fine of up to N$5000

and/or prison for up to 1 year and/or

education programme

ANDrepeated offence could lead to

disqualification to hold liquor licencePenalty for child = fine of up to

N$300 and/or

education programme

Coercing, allowing or

encouraging underage drinking

It is illegal for any person, including a parent, to:

Penalty = fine

of up to N$20 000

and/or prison for up to 5 years

and/or education programme

Coerce

any child under 18

to drink alcoholAllow or encourage any child under 16

to drink alcohol

Exception: genuine religious sacraments, such as communion wine

Why the age difference?

Intended to address situations such as where parents take young children to

shebeens

and give them alcohol to keep them quiet. Idea was to permit parents to introduce children to responsible drinking

in secure environments as they approach age 18, such as by allowing them to taste wine or beer at a family lunch or a wedding.Secrecy is not helpful; better to

encourage communication between parent and child about the child’s alcohol use so that parent can provide guidance without fear of criminal sanction.

It remains illegal for anyone to supply

alcohol to a child under age 18 – which would make the exception almost impossible to utilise in most practical situations.

Using alcohol for sex

Combating of Immoral Practices Act 21 of 1980

amended by

Child Care and Protection Act to expand the rule protecting “females” from being made drunk or drugged for the purposes of sex

Protection still applies to females but also to

all

children,male and female

Penalty = 10 years (doubled by amendment)

Other rules

Licensed establishments must display

a

notice

saying that it is prohibited by law to sell liquor to any person under age 18.

It is illegal for any person, regardless of age, to

drink liquor in a public place. It is also illegal for anyone to be intoxicated at any licensed premises or in a public place

.

Other protections

Prevention and early intervention services can help families get

help for alcohol addiction

by any family member, including a child. These

programmes can also educate communities about the dangers of alcohol abuse.

A child with a substance abuse problem

and no support to get help is a child

in need of protective services who can get State intervention.Alcohol use by children in registered facilities must be reported to facility management.

”Currently the age at which alcohol can be obtained in Namibia is 18. However, in society,

minors have access to alcohol as early as the ages of four and five

. Having shebeens and bars in our

neighbourhoods is looked upon as being normal. Parents and the community at large turn a blind eye. However, we often don’t know the long-term effects that alcohol has on our bodies. Most of us minors know that if you drink in excess you will get drunk, tipsy and have a terrible hangover the next day. But,

alcohol is actually a depressant, can be addictive and can have long-term health effects. I suggest that our government have an annual

Alcohol Awareness Campaign to educate 18-year-olds about what drinking alcohol can mean.”

comment from Windhoek learner

during consultations arounddraft Child Care and Protection Bill

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