Leading Australian organisations have issued a strong call for governments to address alcohol and violence against women through integrated national strategies, following the release of a comprehensive policy brief in late 2025.

Our Watch and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) released their joint brief calling for alcohol harm minimisation strategies to become central to efforts preventing violence against women and children.

The evidence demonstrates that heavy alcohol use by men can escalate and worsen their violent behaviour towards women, particularly among men whose ideas of masculinity emphasise aggression, dominance and disrespect for women.

Key Policy Recommendations

The policy brief, titled “Opportunities to address alcohol policy as part of a holistic approach to preventing violence against women,” recommends that governments explicitly address the link between alcohol and violence against women in law, policy and regulation.

Patty Kinnersly, CEO of Our Watch, explained the complexity of this relationship. “Not all people who drink alcohol are violent, and many people who are violent do not drink alcohol,” she said. “But Australia does need to focus on the interaction between men’s alcohol consumption and their attitudes towards women, as well as broader social norms relating to masculinity, alcohol and violence.”

Research shows that when heavy alcohol use intersects with disrespect, gendered social norms and power imbalances, the risks escalate significantly. This intersection makes addressing alcohol and violence against women essential for effective prevention.

Reshaping Harmful Drinking Cultures

The brief highlights the urgent need to reshape drinking cultures that celebrate men’s dominance and aggression whilst challenging ideas about masculinity that contribute to violence.

Key reform opportunities include amending state and territory liquor laws to prioritise harm minimisation and recognise domestic, family and sexual violence as relevant forms of alcohol-related harm.

“The evidence shows that when heavy alcohol use intersects with disrespect, gendered social norms and power imbalances, the risks to women escalate,” Kinnersly said. “That’s why it’s essential that alcohol harm prevention and work to address the gendered drivers of violence go hand in hand.”

The organisations advocate for improved regulation of alcohol advertising that targets men and links drinking with masculinity, dominance and control.

Digital Era Challenges

FARE CEO Ayla Chorley emphasised how modern alcohol accessibility compounds the connection between alcohol and violence against women.

“We know from the experiences of many victim survivors that alcohol plays a key role in the violence they experience,” Chorley said. “Our national approach to the crisis of family, domestic and sexual violence must address the impact of alcohol harm.”

Right now, alcohol is more accessible than ever due to the rapid increase in largely unregulated online sale and home delivery services.

“As alcohol becomes more available and accessible, harms increase,” Chorley explained. “Liquor laws have not kept up with today’s digital environment, and the evidence shows that this is fuelling and exacerbating family and domestic violence.”

Governments can make a significant difference by better regulating the way alcohol is marketed, sold and delivered to homes, according to the organisations’ analysis of alcohol and violence against women.

Comprehensive Prevention Strategies

Kinnersly stressed that preventing violence against women requires a wide range of strategies, including new approaches to regulating how alcohol is marketed, sold and delivered into homes.

“We need to design our prevention interventions with specific attention to reducing the risks faced by women,” she said.

The brief sets out practical opportunities for policymakers alongside community-based strategies to address the relationship between alcohol and violence against women.

“Policy reform and community-based strategies to address alcohol harms can make an important contribution to preventing violence against women,” Kinnersly added. “Together, these interventions can change harmful social norms and shift drinking cultures, creating safer communities for everyone.”

Collaborative Action

The policy brief represents a collaborative effort between organisations working on preventing violence against women and those focused on preventing alcohol-related harms.

“Building partnerships between organisations working on preventing violence against women and organisations focused on preventing alcohol-related harms is essential, which is why Our Watch and FARE collaborated on this policy brief,” Kinnersly said.

This partnership approach recognises that effectively addressing alcohol and violence against women requires expertise from multiple sectors working together towards common goals.

Urgent Call to Action

Kym Valentine, FARE Lived Experience Adviser and Survivor Advocate, emphasised the immediate need for action on alcohol and violence against women.

“Family and domestic violence is a complex issue, but there are levers within reach that can immediately reduce the frequency and severity of violence,” Valentine said.

“It is incumbent upon us to pull those levers with absolute urgency for every person living in fear in their homes.”

Valentine’s lived experience perspective highlights how policy changes around alcohol can have direct, immediate impacts on women’s safety.

Regulatory Framework Reforms

The brief outlines several specific reforms governments can implement to address alcohol and violence against women:

State and territory liquor laws should explicitly prioritise harm minimisation principles. Domestic, family and sexual violence must be recognised as relevant forms of alcohol-related harm within licensing frameworks. Stronger regulation is needed for alcohol advertising, particularly marketing that targets men and associates drinking with aggressive masculinity, dominance and control over women.

The organisations call for improved oversight of online alcohol sales and home delivery services, which currently operate with minimal regulation despite evidence linking increased accessibility to heightened violence risk.

Evidence-Based Approach

The policy brief draws on extensive research demonstrating the relationship between alcohol consumption patterns, masculine social norms and violence perpetration.

Whilst acknowledging that not all alcohol consumption leads to violence, the organisations emphasise that certain drinking contexts and cultural attitudes significantly increase risk factors for women.

The evidence supports targeted interventions that address both alcohol availability and the underlying gender inequalities and harmful masculine norms that enable violence.

Understanding the nuanced relationship between alcohol and violence against women allows for more effective, evidence-based prevention strategies.

Community-Level Interventions

Beyond regulatory reform, the brief outlines community-based strategies to prevent violence. These include challenging social norms that celebrate excessive drinking as a marker of masculinity, promoting respectful relationships and gender equality, providing education about the links between alcohol and violence, and supporting bystander intervention programmes.

The organisations stress that comprehensive prevention requires action at multiple levels, from individual behaviour change to systemic policy reform.

Looking Forward

The policy brief represents a significant step towards recognising the prevention of alcohol and violence against women as an urgent priority requiring coordinated action across government, community and industry sectors.

By explicitly linking alcohol harm minimisation with violence prevention efforts, Our Watch and FARE hope to catalyse meaningful policy changes that protect women and children whilst addressing broader public health concerns.

The organisations continue to advocate for urgent government action on their recommendations, emphasising that effective prevention is both possible and necessary.

As Australia grapples with ongoing challenges around family and domestic violence, this policy brief provides a roadmap for how addressing alcohol policy can contribute to creating safer communities for women and children.

Source: Fare