Each week in Australia, an average of one woman is killed and around 50 are hospitalised after being assaulted by a current or former partner. In fact, intimate partner violence is the greatest contributor to the burden of disease for women aged 25-44, more so than smoking, alcohol and obesity. These alarming facts were revealed by the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare earlier this year.
While gender inequality and disrespect for women are at the core of violence against women, gambling can increase the frequency and severity of this violence. People with gambling problems are more than twice as likely as people without gambling problems to be victims and perpetrators of family violence. Most victims are women, and most perpetrators are a current or former male partner.
The Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence noted that the complex links between gambling and domestic violence are not well understood. However, some insights were provided by the dozens of related submissions they received.
These submissions indicated that violent episodes can accompany a perpetrator’s anger and frustration over their own gambling losses, with their gambling wins and losses sometimes defining the overall climate of fear in the household.
Domestic violence can also accompany a victim’s gambling where the perpetrator acts on accumulated anger about the gambling behaviour and associated stressors, sometimes shifting the blame for their violence onto their partner’s gambling.
Women sometimes gamble to cope with past or current trauma related to family violence. Gambling can provide an emotional escape from problems, as well as a physical escape to venues where they can avoid a perpetrator’s abuse.
Top Comments
I don't think this should be a surprise.
Comparatively more lower socioeconomic people gamble, the incidence of domestic violence is higher in lower socioeconomic areas.
Agreed. The lower socio-econmomic areas also have higher rates of substance abuse, crime and poverty which are a huge contributing factor to domestic violence.
This is like saying, most accidents involving Mercedes and Porshes occur in inner city Melbourne - so it's clear inner city areas are dangerous for drivers of luxury cars.
Indeed. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have the study. The more information we have about it the easier it will be to try and fix.
Just i'm not surprised they found the link.
LOL yes. Or that helmets increase head injuries.
If you believe either of those statements, you're out of touch. Domestic violence crosses the spectrum from the poorest to the richest. And while those from lower socioeconomic areas may enjoy betting on the various forms of horse and dog racing, or putting money in poker machines, the real gamblers in both these fields are the better off.
I have the statistics to back me up, you're welcome to try and prove me wrong.
I never said rich people didn't commit DV or that they didn't gamble, just that it happens more in lower socioeconomic areas.