Risk of Intimate Partner Violence and Alcohol Use

This response to "Domestic Violence and Effectiveness of Law Enforcement Agencies: A Panel Data Study" (EPW, 16 January 2016) supports the recommendation to increase quantitative research efforts in the field and apply evidence-based policy to reduce violence against women. As an example, the article presents an epidemiological analysis of alcohol as an important risk factor for intimate partner violence against women in India.

Violence against women (VAW) has become one of the defining social and public health issues in India. Intimate partner violence (IPV) comprises a large proportion of VAW, and the identification and analysis of its determinants require focused research efforts. We support the recommendation made in “Domestic Violence and Effectiveness of Law Enforcement Agencies: A Panel Data Study” (EPW, 16 January 2016) by Anubha Shekhar Sinha, Milind Padalkar and Sreevas Sahastranaman to increase quantitative research efforts in this field and apply evidence-based policy to reduce VAW. We offer our epidemiological analysis of alcohol as an important risk factor for IPV against women in India as an example.

Over the last few years, a public discourse on VAW has begun in India, spurred by high profile news stories of sexual assault. However, many women who experience violence remain invisible and their abuse is largely unacknowledged and unaddressed. This is especially true for IPV, where the determinants and risk factors of IPV require greater scrutiny from researchers and political alacrity from decision-makers.