“Drinking Too Much, Fighting Too Much”: The Dual “Disasters” of Intimate Partner Violence and Alcohol Use in South Africa

Abstract

The intersecting issues of intimate partner violence (IPV) and alcohol abuse in South Africa are often characterized as “disasters.” Ethnographic research among women in Soweto demonstrates the different manifestations of IPV, perceptions of abuse, and coping mechanisms to manage harmful domestic relationships. Findings suggest a consistent relationship between excessive drinking patterns and IPV—most significantly, physical and emotional abuse—while indicating that domestic violence measures should include questions about stress. The authors also argue against pathologizing the relationship between IPV and alcohol abuse, to instead center the structured, sedimented ways that violence within the home has become a “normalized” disaster.

A global review of the impact on women from men’s alcohol drinking: the need for responding with a gendered lens

“…The studies were published between 1997 and 2022. Thirteen studies focused explicitly on alcohol use in connection with harm [ 21 , 22 , 29–37 ]. The remaining studies reported women’s experience of harm where alcohol use was described as a risk factor.…”

“…Four studies were conducted in low-income settings (Uganda [ 40–42 ], the Democratic Republic of Congo [ 43 ]); nine from lower-middle-income countries (India [ 30 , 36 , 44 , 45 ], Nepal [ 46 , 47 ], the Middle East (Lebanon and Egypt) [ 48 ], Ghana [ 49 ], Sri Lanka [ 50 ]); seven from upper-middle-income countries (South Africa [ 29 , 34 , 51 , 52 ], Colombia [ 53 ], Brazil [ 35 ], Thailand [ 31 ]); and ten from high-income countries (Australia [ 21 , 22 , 38 , 39 , 54 ], Denmark [ 33 ], Germany [ 55 ], Lithuania [ 37 ], the United Kingdom [ 32 ], USA [ 56 ]).…”

“…Notably, many samples in the reviewed papers featured marginalised or disadvantaged populations, including women in Thailand living in refugee camps [ 31 ], populations in conflict-ridden DRC [ 43 ], and those in largely black townships in South Africa [ 29 , 34 ], rural communities in India [ 30 , 44 , 45 ], Aboriginal Australian women [ 54 ], Mexican immigrant survivors of abuse living in New York [ 56 ], young pregnant women living in urban slums in Kathmandu [ 47 ]; returned abductees from the civil war in Northern Uganda [ 40 ]; and low-income Middle Eastern families [ 48 ].…”

“…Studies revealed that women (and children) experienced alcohol-related intimidation that instilled fear [ 29 , 46 ] such as threats to kill or hurt her or someone whom she cares about, and damaging property (e.g. punching holes in the wall) [ 21 ].…”

A Prospective Analysis of the Interrelationship between Physical Intimate Partner Violence and Alcohol Use: A Post-Hoc Analysis of Young Women Involved in the Stepping Stones and Creating Futures Trial in South Africa

“…Many cross-sectional studies have highlighted the association between alcohol and women’s experiences of violence (Minnis et al, 2015; Ndungu et al, 2020; Pitpitan et al, 2013; Selin et al, 2019). Qualitative studies have emphasised how the centrality of informal drinking establishments ( shebeens) in shaping the relationship between alcohol and IPV (Wojcicki, 2002; Zembe et al, 2013), as well as how alcohol becomes embedded in everyday conflict in intimate relationships (Backe et al, 2021), and how these are experiences are patterned by broader issues of poverty, and gendered expectations in relationships (Zembe et al, 2013).…”