Alcohol seen as worsening domestic violence — expert

Violence against women is pervasive in the Philippines, with one in four women aged 15 to 49 having reported experiencing some form of physical, sexual, and emotional violence, according to the 2017 Philippine Statistics Authority National Demographic and Health Survey.

Further aggravating the problem of violence against women in the Philippines is the high prevalence of excessive alcohol use.

"We have to acknowledge that alcohol is a risk factor for domestic violence," AJ Montesa, project officer of Action for Economic Reform, said during the End the Epidemic on Yosi, Vape, at Alak Among Youth media forum held on Wednesday.

"There are surveys that found that women who have domestic partners who drink alcohol are two to five times more likely to experience some sort of intimate partner violence," Montesa explained.

A UNICEF study, conducted in 1997 analyzing 1,000 cases of domestic violence in the Philippines, found that alcohol misuse was cited in one out of every four cases.

Further, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that roughly 55 percent of domestic abuse perpetrators were drinking alcohol before assault.

While there is still a limited study of the link in the Philippines, there are countries that have found the relationship between alcohol and domestic violence.

In Australia, alcohol is estimated to be involved in between 23 percent and 65 percent of all family violence incidents reported to authorities, while in the United States, alcohol is a factor in 40 percent of reported domestic violence cases.

Meanwhile, in France, citing studies, newspaper Le Monde reported in 2024 that the consumption of alcohol plays a central role in violence within the family circle.

The WHO, United Nations (UN) Women, Human Rights Council, and UN Office on Drugs and Crime list alcohol as a major risk factor and a determinant of violence against women.