Gender differences in the choreography of alcohol-related violence: An observational study of aggression within licensed premises

Abstract

Aims: To examine patterns of gender involvement in violent incidents observed within licensed premises. Methods: Field observations were conducted in a sample of eight city centre nightclubs allowing alcohol-related aggressive incidents to be witnessed in their naturalistic setting. Results: Although most of those involved in aggressive incidents were males (108/171), many of the conflicts witnessed involved female combatants (36.8%). Additionally, female-to-female incidents were found to be as potentially injurious as those between males. Nevertheless, female-to-female and male-tomale conflicts did differ, in terms of the nature of the violence observed with, for example, female conflicts being less likely to involve an easily recognizable set pre-fight choreography. Conclusions: This research the challenges belief that female conflicts within licensed premises are less problematic than those involving males. These findings are discussed in terms of alcohol, masculinity, and harm reduction.

‘We police it ourselves’: Group processes in the escalation and regulation of violence in the night‐time economy

“…This research complements recent observational work focussing upon alcohol-based violence (e.g. Forsyth & Lennox, 2010;Graham & Homel, 2008). Forsyth and Lennox's study of violence in Glasgow's nightclubs observed differing patterns of male and female violence, and very few instances of inter-gender conflict.…”

“…However, the differing accounts of violence and group behaviours provide access into the explicit norms that need to be considered by the participants in the NTE. They also provide a level of detail and description of group relationships not available in observational studies of NTE violence (Forsyth & Lennox, 2010;Levine, Taylor, & Best, 2011) and have previously been used to examine social capital in the NTE (Demant & Järvinen, 2011).…”

Implementing a Public Health Objective for Alcohol Premises Licensing in Scotland: A Qualitative Study of Strategies, Values, and Perceptions of Evidence

“…There are over 1 million alcohol-related hospital admissions a year in England, and in 2013 there were 6592 alcohol-related deaths, a 10% increase from 2003 [4]. Alcohol consumption is also associated with adverse social outcomes like crime, job loss, and violence [5,6,7], causing a significant burden of harm to those other than the drinker. Furthermore, alcohol harms are socially patterned, making alcohol a key driver of health inequalities [8,9].…”

“Girls will be served until you have to carry them out”: Gendered serving practices in Oslo

“…Bars are one of the primary arenas where young men play out status scripts leading to physical aggression (Graham, Bernards, Abbey, Dumas, & Wells, 2014). Conflicts involving females occur less frequently and are less problematic than those involving men (Forsyth & Lennox, 2010). Women's intoxication has been linked to women's sexual victimization and women are more likely to be victims of sexual aggression when they are drunk (Parks, Hsieh, Bradizza, & Romosz, 2008).…”