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

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.

Automated summary

The intersecting issues of intimate partner violence (IPV) and alcohol abuse in South Africa are often characterized as disasters. Ethnographic research shows a consistent relationship between excessive drinking patterns and IPV, with findings suggesting that domestic violence measures should include questions about stress. The authors argue against pathologizing the relationship between IPV and alcohol abuse, instead focusing on how violence within the home has become a normalized disaster in structured ways.