World Cup May Increase Domestic Violence

Officials in the United Kingdom are warning that the combination of alcohol and excitement that accompanies the World Cup competition may fuel increased incidences of domestic violence.  The World Cup began today in South Africa and continues through July 11, 2010.

The U.K.’s Association of Chief Police Officers has initiated a public awareness campaign during the games to try to prevent the spikes of violence.  In 2006, according to the British Home Office, reports of domestic violence increased by fully a quarter on days England had matches during the World Cup tournament, and that figure went up to 30% on the day England was eliminated from the competition.

Officials recommend that women might consider getting out of the home and taking children with them, visiting friends or family during England game nights.  They also encourage all people affected by domestic violence to report it.

Despite the surge in domestic violence reports during the 2006 World Cup, no direct causal link between the tournament and violence in the home has been scientifically proven.  Similarly, a long-held belief that the Super Bowl causes a surge in U.S. domestic violence has been shown to be based on very little in the way of solid or systematic evidence.  In the U.K., however, based on the 2006 data on domestic violence reports, officials want to err on the side of caution.

On the other hand, violence in the stands and before and after soccer games is well known.  This year’s host country, South Africa, was the scene of forty deaths when fans attempted to flee a brawl in a packed stadium in Johannesburg in 1991.  In England, the history of football hooliganism goes back over a century to the 1880s, when gangs of rival fans would meet both at and away from games in bloody brawls.  The high levels of violence associated with soccer rivalries in general, combined with the 2006 spikes in reports of domestic violence, suggests that there might be something to the link between the high emotion of the game, alcohol, and domestic violence, as U.K. officials fear.