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Nine in 10 Aussies believe in link between alcohol, domestic violence: survey

Xinhua, April 27, 2017 Adjust font size:

More than a third of all Australians believe they have been affected by alcohol-related violence, while 92 percent of Aussies think there is a link between alcohol and domestic violence, according to a survey published on Thursday.

The survey, commissioned by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), also found that one in five children are at risk of violence each year due to someone else's excessive drinking.

Michael Thorn, chief executive of FARE, said the results were no surprise considering 78 percent of respondents said they believe Australia has a "problem" with excess drinking.

He said the results should act as a stern wake-up call for governments to take action.

"It's a damning indictment of this country's toxic relationship with alcohol when we have more than a third of Australians affected by alcohol-related violence," Thorn said in a statement on Thursday.

"These troubling findings are really a reflection of the extent of alcohol harm in Australia; the 15 lives lost and 430 hospitalizations caused by alcohol every single day."

Thorn said while the overwhelming majority of cases of violence involved children and females, there was one simple solution to reducing the toll of alcohol-related violence - by banning alcohol advertisements on television during sporting matches, much like what happened to cigarette advertising in the 1990s.

Despite the reports, Fergus Taylor from Alcohol Beverages Australia said Thorn's claims lack evidence, adding that recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data showed binge drinking had been in decline for the last 10 years.

"And violence is also significantly trending downwards Australia-wide," he said in a statement on Thursday. Endit