Don’t blame men for domestic violence. Blame booze

If we continue to ignore alcohol as the root cause of domestic violence and focus on gender, we will pass on violence to future generations, writes Corrine Barraclough.

Let’s start talking about the link between alcohol and domestic violence, rather than men and domestic violence. (Pic: Supplied)

It’s time to read compelling new research with open minds and change strategy in our fight against domestic violence.

A major new study released on December 15 completed by researchers from Deakin University’s School of Psychology has confirmed the link between alcohol and other drugs and domestic violence. Researchers found heavy binge drinking doubles the risk of family or intimate partner violence.

Over three years, researchers analysed police data and found those who reported their partners were heavy binge drinkers were nearly six times more likely to report those partners had been violent towards them.

Lead researcher of the study Alcohol/Drug-Involved Family Violence in Australia (ADIVA), Professor Peter Miller says, “Heavy drinking was also found to be associated with increased levels of coercive controlling behaviour, which includes emotional, psychological, and physical abuse of a partner.

“Nearly half of respondents had a partner who engaged in high levels of coercive controlling behaviour toward them, and 66.8 per cent of respondents reported behaving towards their partner in this way.”

Domestic violence is not a gender issue. It is about the abuse of alcohol and other substances. (Pic: Getty)

Are you listening, feminists? How about you remove your gendered roadblock and let society start tackling root causes of domestic violence effectively? Our battle against domestic violence isn’t a feminist fight. It should never have been hijacked by your gender debate.

Your dangerous ideology allows the war on men to be seen on misleading government funded TV ads in the name of fighting domestic violence. The latest ad screening in Victoria “There’s Nothing Good About Dads Who Abuse Women” once again portrays men as sole evil perpetrators and says, “Family violence stems from men who think they are better than women. It’s that simple.”

Really? Sounds more like a line from a feminist textbook than a true representation of the reality of domestic violence.

In contrast the Deakin study says, “Violence in all its forms is a complex phenomenon.” Why do feminist lobby groups like Our Watch and White Ribbon Australia think they have they have a simple magic answer? Why is Libby Davies CEO of White Ribbon allowed to say, “We stop violence at the source. And the source is men”? What hideous sex discrimination.

The new Deakin research found male victims accounted for 11-37 per cent of incidents of family violence attended by police. Where are TV ads showing this?

Miller says the key to addressing the issue is to identify risk factors including substance use problems. Mandatory sobriety and treatment orders should be attached to family and domestic violence sentences.

Feminist lobby groups are desperately clinging to their narrative that “toxic masculinity” causes domestic violence. In truth, the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre of the University of New South Wales reported in October that Australian women drink the same amount of alcohol as men. So shall we start talking about “toxic femininity” and “intoxicated femininity”?

Considering News Corp reported on December 18 children as young as 12 or 13 are trying alcohol and drugs, can we not see the urgency for action?

Urgent action is needed to address the scourge of domestic violence. (Pic: iStock)

Mary Barry CEO of Our Watch recently told a website, “being poor does not ‘cause’ domestic violence.” However, Deakin University research states, family and domestic violence incidents occurred “most often in areas of greatest socio-economic disadvantage in New South Wales (26 per cent), Tasmania (29 per cent), South Australia (48 per cent), and Victoria (32 per cent).”

Take your fingers out of your ears, remove your blinkers of blanket blame, and read research that hasn’t been commissioned to suit your agenda. Men aren’t the enemy; a huge percentage of the source of violence is substances.

Ice-fuelled violence is tearing communities apart. Are feminists going to try to gender that too?

Alcohol and substances cause chemical changes in our brains. Every individual reacts differently. It affects individuals in the moment and poor emotional control plays a part — in both genders. Yes, of course we all want to stop violence against women and children but that’s only a fraction of the picture.

Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) Chief Executive Michael Thorn says ADIVA research findings add further weight to decades of research demonstrating alcohol contributes to incidence and severity of family and domestic violence.

“Frankly, the evidence that alcohol is a significant risk factor for family violence is irrefutable. And while we have witnessed a continued focus by governments on the need to address family violence over the last two years, our political leaders still refuse to recognise the elephant in the room, they fail to acknowledge that alcohol contributes to the incidence and the severity of family and domestic violence,” Mr Thorn tells News Corp.

“We don’t need to wait decades for generational change we can introduce measures today that would prevent some of the tragic toll.”

If we continue to ignore alcohol and substances as root causes and focus on gender we will simply pass violence to future generations. Continually pouring government funding into feminists lobby groups pockets so they can push their gender agenda in the name of tackling domestic violence is a disgrace.