Up to 20 per cent of South Australians have increased their average weekly alcohol intake in response to COVID-19, the state’s peak drug and alcohol group says, prompting concerns of a rise in family violence. .
South Australian Network of Drug and Alcohol Services executive officer Michael White said counselling services have reported an increase in the number of calls during the coronavirus lockdown period where their clients mention violent behaviour.
He said services had started to record the number of times their clients had talked about family violence during counselling sessions and concluded that there were “more conversations about alcohol and other drugs and family violence than ever beforeâ€.
White said the services did not have a baseline figure for comparison and counsellors may not have asked about family violence during counselling sessions as consistently before, meaning more research was needed to gain a better understanding.
White said problem drinking and family violence “co-occurâ€, meaning any spike in alcohol consumption was cause for concern.
White said border closures and reduced airfreight have restricted the overseas illicit drug market, meaning people who engage with drug use in South Australia have relied more on locally-produced substances including GHB – also known as fantasy – and less on the more costly methamphetamine.
It comes as drug and alcohol support services witnessed a decline in the number of new referrals as people chose to stay home instead of visiting their GP or their mental health specialist for drug or alcohol support.
“We saw an initial drop in demand (for counselling support) and now we’re seeing an incremental rise in demand,†White said
White said some people have preferred staying at home to talk to their drug and alcohol counsellor online, while others who are without a stable internet or phone connection have been left behind
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