Alcohol-related intimate partner violence Can interventions that reduce problem drinking also reduce partner violence? Ingrid Wilson, PhD Candidate La Trobe University

Outline What do we know about alcohol-related intimate partner violence (IPV)? What interventions or strategies have an impact on alcohol-related IPV? What role can local government play?

Intimate Partner Violence Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent worldwide (WHO, 2002) Significant issue for Australian women (ABS Personal Safety Survey 2005) Major impact on women’s health and well-being (VicHealth, 2004)

Prevalence Alcohol is involved in a significant proportion of intimate partner violence

Prevalence US studies - 25-50% involve alcohol (Leonard, 2001) Alcohol was a definite factor in 43% of family violence incidents in Victoria in 2009-2010 (Victorian Department of Justice 2012) Indigenous partner homicides 13 times more likely to involve alcohol than non-indigenous partner homicides (Dearden & Payne, 2009) 41% of police recorded domestic assaults in NSW in 2010 were alcohol-related (Grech and Burgess, 2011) Australian victimisation survey - 1 in 3 (35%) recent incidents were alcohol-related (Mouzos and Makkai, 2004) 50.3% of partner violence is alcohol-related; 73% physical assaults (Laslett et al., 2010)

Alcohol – what role? Type of drinking Exact role of alcohol – complex and contentious Causation Lack of consensus on theories and models Alcohol as an excuse Type of drinking Quantity per drinking occasion rather than frequency (Graham & Bernards, 2008) Heavy episodic/binge drinking = more aggression and more severe violence (Foran & O’Leary, 2008) Risk increases when one or both partners drink (Abramsky, 2011) “Alcohol may not cause partner violence, but it seems to make it worse” (Graham et al, 2011)

Support for primary prevention “The strong association between alcohol and intimate partner violence and sexual violence suggests that primary prevention interventions to reduce the harm caused by alcohol could potentially be effective.” (WHO, 2010)

Interventions? Small evidence base Limitations Significant gaps Individual Societal Community Relationship The Social-Ecological Model: A Framework for Prevention (Krug, 2002; Heise, 1998) Alcoholism Treatment (individual & couples) Alcohol outlet density Alcohol restrictions Small evidence base Limitations Significant gaps Alcohol pricing & taxation

Opportunities for Local Government Alcohol outlet density Promising area for local government to take a role Growing area of research Overall, studies show association between density of outlets and domestic violence Field is divided regarding which type of outlets Livingston (2011) substantial effect for packaged liquor. An increase of 1 outlet per 1,000 residents associated with 28.6% increase in domestic violence May have relevance for planning decisions

Alcohol outlet density studies Study Year Country Off-premise On-premise Gorman 1998 US X McKinney et al., 2009 ✓ Livingston 2010 Aust 2011 Liang & Chikritzhs Cunradi et al., 2012 Roman & Reid Cameron et al, NZ

Conclusion Alcohol-related intimate partner violence is prevalent While the role of alcohol is not clear, it is a significant risk factor across countries and cultures (Abramsky, Watts, et al., 2009) Alcohol is a modifiable risk factor but more studies at the population level are needed