“Unhappy Hours: Alcohol and Partner Aggression in the Americas”
[PAHO’s Publication]

Addressing in an effective manner domestic violence that affects women, children and even men is a priority of PAHO’s technical cooperation with our Member States. Now, extensive research conducted on 10 countries of our Region has proved that excessive alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of intimate partner violence.

The investigation was carried out in Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Brazil, Belize, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay, and the United States as part of the GENACIS project (Gender, Alcohol and Culture: An International Study).

Given the study’s importance for understanding the problem better and finding more effective interventions to “right” this wrong, PAHO published its results in a book:
“Unhappy Hours: Alcohol and partner aggression in the Americas”. The book is a collaborative effort and was edited by Dr. Kathryn Graham from Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH); Sharon Bernards also from CAMH; Myriam Munné from the Research Institute of the University of Buenos Aires; and Sharon Wilsnack from the University of North Dakota, USA. Should you be interested in acquiring this publication, please check PAHO Publishing at:
http://www.paho.org/english/dd/pub/pubHome.asp

Alcohol by itself is one of the leading risk factors for the burden of disease in the Americas – in 2002 alone, it was responsible for more than 323,000 deaths and more than 14 million years of healthy life lost to premature death and disability. Such impact by itself calls for improving public policies to curtail its heavy consumption, but the results of the study about its relation to increased domestic violence strengthens the case for adopting effective measures in this regard.

The book also addresses policies that can have an impact on the relationship between alcohol and domestic violence, such as price/taxation, regulating marketing and the hours and points of sale; as well as empirical evidence showing such measures work. In short, it is a very valuable publication for policymakers and all people interested on tackling the domestic violence problem. Detailed information about the book can be found at:
PAHO Book Establishes New Links between Excessive Alcohol and Partner Violence
[PAHO Press Release]

Mirta Roses Periago
PAHO’s Director
02/01/09