Speak to any frontline worker supporting domestic and family violence survivors and they’ll tell you that alcohol is often part of the story.
When domestic and family violence services brace for a surge in demand after major sporting events, alcohol is a notable factor. The people we support consistently tell us the violence they experience escalates when their abuser has been drinking.
Right now, South Australia is at a turning point. We have an opportunity to lead the nation, passing reforms to make our community safer by curbing online alcohol sales and rapid home delivery.
While it’s not the root cause of the problem, harmful alcohol use reinforces the gendered drivers that underpin our national crisis of domestic, family and sexual violence.
We have no doubt the proposed legislation would save lives. But without courage and strong leadership, it’s at risk of being watered down, as industry pressure intensifies to weaken long-overdue reforms.
The Draft Liquor Licensing (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill is set to be tabled in state parliament in September. To be effective, it must maintain three key measures that would significantly reduce harm.
These include amending the permitted delivery hours of alcohol to between 10am and 10pm, establishing a two-hour safety pause between ordering and delivery, and making harm minimisation the most important consideration in liquor licensing decisions.
The research is clear that when alcohol is delivered rapidly into the home, it’s more likely to be used at risky levels and cause increased harm.
The extension of home-delivered and takeaway alcohol by just one hour from 10pm to 11pm by the NSW Government in 2016 was linked to more than 1,100 additional domestic violence assaults in the 38 months after hours were extended. The draft bill puts forward common-sense protections to curb those risks.
The measures have widespread community support, with polling showing 77 per cent of South Australians believe the government should prioritise harm reduction over industry profits when drafting liquor laws. More than two-thirds (69 per cent) want alcohol delivery into homes limited as a safety measure to reduce gendered violence.
This legislation is evidence-based and survivor-informed.
The draft bill also reflects the findings of last year’s Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches to gender-based violence, and is backed by advocates across public health, alcohol and other drug services, and the domestic and family violence sector.
We commend South Australia for being the first to take up National Cabinet’s call for every state and territory to review its liquor licensing laws to prioritise the prevention of violence against women and children
But the Government must remain steadfast in its commitment to enacting legislation that will make a lasting impact. We know the alcohol industry has a chequered history of pressuring governments to dilute laws that would protect the community.
Survivor-advocates have written directly to the Premier, sharing their moving personal stories of alcohol being a catalyst for increased harm in their homes, and urging him to pass the bill in full. They know what’s at stake because they’ve lived it.
We cannot allow industry lobbying to sideline their voices and weaken these draft laws at a time when one woman is being killed in an act of gendered violence every four days in Australia.
The Government has shown strong leadership in putting this bill forward and initiating South Australia’s Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, which will hand down its recommendations in August. Both are opportunities to address the role of alcohol, bolstering protections by following the evidence and listening to those with lived experience.
South Australians in fear for their lives cannot afford half-measures. Right now our systems are failing people experiencing violence, and this reform is a step in the right direction.
These are urgently needed reforms that would set a new standard for how we prioritise safety over profits in our community.
Now is the time to be bold and uncompromising. We urge Parliament to pass the bill as it was originally drafted without hesitation and compromise.
Mary Leaker is the Chief Executive Officer of Embolden, South Australia’s peak body for domestic, family and sexual violence services.
