Alcohol Use and Gender-Based Violence

• DOI: 10.1007/s40429-021-00354-y
• Publication Date: 2021-01-28T12:44:47Z
• Authors: Lakshmi Shiva; Lekhansh Shukla; Prabha S. Chandra
• Keywords: Victimisation

The evidence for association of alcohol and gender-based violence (GBV) is quite strong; however, the exact pathways of this association need further study. Areas that need more research include the role of alcohol in any type of intimate partner violence and the risks for violence when alcohol is combined with other psychoactive substances. This will help in developing targeted interventions for different groups. This paper aims at reviewing existing literature on alcohol-related GBV and intimate partner violence (IPV) and provide a reference for future research. Alcohol plays an important role in perpetuation of gender violence and in coping with victimisation among women. It acts as a proximal factor along with distal factors like relationship problems in the perpetuation of gender-based violence. While the association of male-to-female violence and alcohol has been mostly studied, similar findings are also seen in female-to-male violence and among same-sex couples. It appears that patriarchy and power imbalance in societies add to the risk. The effects of other substances like cannabis and stimulants used along with alcohol have an additive effect on GBV. The role of alcohol-related policies like decreasing alcohol outlet density, prohibition, and increasing the minimum legal age for drinking have shown some evidence in reducing partner violence but cannot be generalised to all contexts. A gendered lens to view alcohol and its association with gender-based violence is vital for several of the above reasons, and hence, targeting alcohol use is necessary but may not be sufficient for violence prevention. Integrated intervention programmes need to be developed to address the problem of alcohol and GBV together.