go to 
hird Judicial District Court home page
Alcohol Abuse and Domestic
Violence
Many studies show a high
rate of alcohol abuse among men who batter their female partners.
Yet is there really a link between alcohol abuse and domestic
violence? No evidence supports a cause and effect relationship
between the two problems. The relatively high incidence of
alcohol abuse among men who batter must be viewed as overlap of
two widespread social problems.
Efforts to link alcohol
abuse and domestic violence reflect society's tendency to view
battering as an individual deviant behavior. Moreover, there is a
reluctance to believe that domestic violence is a pervasive
social problem that happens among all kinds of American families.
For these reasons, it is essential to emphasize what is known
about the relationship between alcohol abuse and domestic
violence.
- Battering is a
socially learned behavior, and is not the result of
substance abuse or mental illness. Men who batter
frequently use alcohol abuse as an excuse for their
violence. They attempt to rid themselves of
responsibility for the problem by blaming it on the
effects of alcohol.
- Many men who batter do
not drink heavily and many alcoholics do not beat their
wives. Some abusers with alcohol problems batter when
drunk, and others when they are sober. For example,
Walker's (1984) study of 400 battered women found that 67%
of batterers frequently abused alcohol; however, only one-fifth
had abused alcohol during all 4 battering incidents on
which data were collected. The study also revealed a high
rate of alcohol abuse among nonbatterers.
- In one batterer's
program, 80% of the men had abused alcohol at the time of
the latest battering incident. The vast majority of men,
however, also reportedly battered their partners when not
under the influence of alcohol.
- Data on the
concurrence of domestic violence and alcohol abuse vary
widely, from as low as 25% to as high as 80% of cases.
- Alcoholism and
battering do share some similar characteristics,
including:
- both may be
passed from generation to generation
- both involve
denial or minimization of the problem
- both involve
isolation of the family
- A battering incident
that is coupled with alcohol abuse may be more severe and
result in greater injury.
- Alcoholism treatment
does not "cure" battering behavior; both
problems must be addressed separately. However,
provisions for the woman's safety must take precedence.
- A small percent (7% to
14%) of battered women have alcohol abuse problems, which
is no more than that found in the general female
population. A woman's substance abuse problems do not
relate to the cause of her abuse, although some women may
turn to alcohol and other drugs in response to the abuse.
To become independent and to live free from violence,
women should receive assistance for substance abuse
problems in addition to other supportive services.
- Men living with women
who have alcohol abuse problems often try to justify
their violence as a way to control them when they're
drunk. A woman's failure to remain substance free is
never an excuse for the abuser's violence.
Idaho Programs
Top of Page