Effectiveness Bank Analysis: Do Interventions to Reduce Alcohol-Related Harms also Reduce Domestic Abuse?

In celebration of International Women’s Day we are highlighting studies throughout the month of March that further our understanding of how sex and gender influence the course of addiction and treatment, with a particular focus on women.

This week’s review examines the possibility that interventions aimed at reducing alcohol consumption may reduce a ‘hidden’ form of alcohol-related violence – domestic abuse.

Reading this analysis prompts thoughts about the role alcohol may play in initiating or exacerbating controlling and abusive behaviours in intimate relationships, and how the presence of heavy or dependent drinking among victims and perpetrators could shape the way health, substance use, and criminal justice professionals view domestic abuse situations.