Gender differences in the choreography of alcohol-related violence: An observational study of aggression within licensed premises

Abstract

Aims: To examine patterns of gender involvement in violent incidents observed within licensed premises. Methods: Field observations were conducted in a sample of eight city centre nightclubs allowing alcohol-related aggressive incidents to be witnessed in their naturalistic setting. Results: Although most of those involved in aggressive incidents were males (108/171), many of the conflicts witnessed involved female combatants (36.8%). Additionally, female-to-female incidents were found to be as potentially injurious as those between males. Nevertheless, female-to-female and male-to-male conflicts did differ, in terms of the nature of the violence observed with, for example, female conflicts being less likely to involve an easily recognizable set pre-fight choreography. Conclusions: This research the challenges belief that female conflicts within licensed premises are less problematic than those involving males. These findings are discussed in terms of alcohol, masculinity, and harm reduction.

Keywords:

• Alcohol
• gender
• violence

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Andy Boyd, Katie O'Neil, Steve Parkin, and Tom Woods for their observational fieldwork, as well as Professor Kathryn Graham of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada for her kind permission to use her research instruments.

Statement of competing interest

This paper is based on research funded by the Alcohol Education Research Council (AERC).