Domestic violence and alcohol: Revealing the facts
Alcohol is Australia's most widely consumed drug, with 35.9% of the population drinking weekly and 5.2% daily. Among recent drinkers, about 1 in 10 are at a high risk of alcohol dependence.
The health harms of alcohol consumption are often discussed, but less so is the role played by alcohol in domestic violence in Australia.
Domestic violence: A national shame
The rates of domestic violence in Australia are extraordinarily high.
One in six women and one in 18 men in Australia have experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or former partner.
Every eleven days, a woman is killed by her partner in Australia.
Domestic violence can come in many forms, including physical, sexual, verbal, and emotional abuse, as well as patterns of behaviour such as coercive control.
Women are overwhelmingly the victims of domestic violence, with the impact of violence often having devastating effects on mental and physical health.
Domestic violence can also have wider social effects, with 39% of homelessness clients having experienced domestic and family violence.
Alcohol is a risk factor
There is a well known association between rates of alcohol consumption and domestic violence.
Up to 54% of family and domestic violence incidents in Australia are alcohol related. More than half (52.1%) of intimate partner homicides between 2010 and 2018 involved problematic alcohol use. This makes alcohol one of the single biggest risk factors for violence.
Per capita alcohol consumption is a strong determinant of homicide rates within countries. A 1 litre increase in per capita alcohol consumption in Australia is associated with an 8% increase in the homicide rate.
Heavy drinking has also been shown to double the risk of family and domestic violence. This is the reason behind spikes in intimate partner violence during large sporting events where consumption is high.
The effects of alcohol on violence risk
Alcohol affects the brain in ways that increase the risk of acting violently.
Alcohol binds to receptors in the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for complex behaviour and decision making.
Alcohol decreases activity in the prefrontal cortex, impacting short term memory, attention, and impulse control. This is thought to play a role in causing intoxicated people to overreact to provocative situations and to limit the ability of some people to control violent impulses.
While alcohol alone not been shown to spontaneously elicit aggressive behaviour in most people, some people – men, in particular – appear susceptible to violence when drinking.
Problematic alcohol use can also increase the risk of violence in other ways. For example, experiencing alcohol dependency may put financial stress on the household, which is a known risk factor for violence.
Correlations with alcohol consumption should not be used to excuse or downplay violent behaviour, but can be helpful in designing interventions to reduce rates of domestic violence.
Reducing alcohol consumption
Policies designed to reduced overall rates of drinking have been shown to decrease domestic violence rates. For example, restricting the strength of packaged liquor in high risk areas has led to declines in domestic violence .
Domestic violence perpetrator programs will commonly identify triggers for violence amongst men, which may involve problematic patterns of alcohol consumption. If this is identified, perpetrators are often encouraged to reduce their alcohol consumption.
At a personal level, there are many ways that someone can reduce their alcohol consumption, which may or may not require specialist intervention.
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