Today is the first day of a one month nationwide alcohol awareness drive organised and run by the goinghomedotcom Trust. This if the 1st National Alcohol Awareness Month in what the trust plans to make an annual event.

• Press Release on the 1st National Alcohol Awareness Month
• National Alcohol Awareness Month Timetable
• 24/7 365 record set for wearing drug abuse T-shirts

The theme for this the first ever National Alcohol Awareness Month in Kenya is "Alcohol and HIV/AIDS". Mention HIV/AIDS in the context of drug abuse and everybody straight away thinks of Injecting Drug Users (IDU's) and other drug users as the persons at risk.

Hardly is alcohol ever associated with HIV/AIDS except when it is to use alcohol abusers or alcoholics as those most at risk.

But the true fact of the matter is that anybody who uses alcohol is at risk. For it is not the amount that matters, but going over one's limit, be that limit one beer or a glass of wine or even a double tot of spirits.

Any slight drinking over these limits would make an individual drunk (as they have exceeded their limit) and hence put them at risky/careless sexual behavior

And one need not even be a drinker of alcohol to be at risk. For all one has to be is to be in an atmosphere where there is heavy alcohol consumption to be at risk. Young girls and other females are always prone to rape where there is alcohol consumption. This includes premeditated gang rape where their drinks are spiked, or where they themselves over indulge and then not in a position to resist sexual advances or are so far gone as not to be even aware of what is happening to them.

The oft quoted "alcohol brings on desire, but takes away the performance" is another fallacy that needs to be put straight. For indeed it will take away the performance much much later. But the danger lies in the initial stages where the desire is increased and inhibitions are down as at the later stage of the curve when the blood alcohol level (BAL) begins to decrease and the desire comes back. Of great note here is also the fact that though in many cases "performance" might not be there, this will not inhibit the attempt however feeble to have sex. It is here where penetration is accomplished. Thus even if the act is not completed, the necessary exchange of bodily fluids needed to contract HIV have occurred rendering successful completion of the sexual journey a moot point.

Alcohol is not going to be banished from among us and the best that we can hope to do is to tame the beast, domesticate it so that it does not decimate us but instead becomes a docile creature we can reign in to do our bidding.

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