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ALCOHOL AND<br />
VIOLENCE<br />
Drinking can make us prone to minor accidents,<br />
like knocking over your drink at a house party,<br />
that you may dismiss as part of an average night.<br />
But alcohol can be the cause of more serious<br />
accidents too. There are two main things that<br />
make this likely. Because it’s a depressant,<br />
alcohol slows down the brain and affects the<br />
body’s responses. At the same time, if you’ve<br />
been drinking, you’re more likely to take risks.<br />
Combined, these reactions increase the chance<br />
of accidents happening. Professionals have also<br />
established a link between alcohol and domestic<br />
violence. The feelings of anger, volatility, hostility,<br />
aggression and violence associated with alcohol<br />
abuse provoke abuse in spouses capable of or<br />
already engaging in abuse. The same is true for<br />
both male and female abusers, and the facts are<br />
astounding. A Medical Association recently<br />
unveiled that 92% of domestic abusers were<br />
abusing alcohol not just in their lives but at the<br />
time of the incident.<br />
“92% of domestic<br />
abusers were<br />
abusing alcohol”<br />
Out of all domestic abusers, 61% of them have a<br />
substance abuse problem. The World Health<br />
Organization published that 11% of all<br />
homicides were cases of domestic violence.<br />
While it may be apparent domestic violence and<br />
alcohol abuse are<br />
related, the cases vary greatly. The abusers<br />
are mostly reproducing a cycle that they have<br />
grown up with. Or they feel like they are losing<br />
control, it also happens when someone is<br />
depressed, they tend to drink more and<br />
remain in that cycle because alcohol<br />
consumption on repeat and in quantity<br />
ultimately has a depressing effect.<br />
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