Barroom Violence

The relationship between alcohol use and violence has been described in a large number of studies in diverse countries. Several studies of homicide, assault, and rape have consistently found alcohol to be involved in one-half to two-thirds of homicides, in one-fourth to nearly one-half of serious assaults, and in more that one-fourth of rapes (Martin 1992). Thus, public drinking places such as bars, taverns, and saloons—where individuals get together for the purpose of consuming alcohol—are particularly high-risk areas for interpersonal violence. Studies of urban Violence indicate that about 55 percent of assaults occur in public places, with approximately one-third of these assaults occurring in a place of public entertainment (Shepherd and Brickley 1996) These statistics most likely underestimate the actual number of violent incidents, as victim surveys suggest that a good amount of violence goes unreported.

Barroom violence can be defined as any intentional action of one individual or group of individuals that directly results in physical injury to another individual or individuals, occurring within the social context of a public drinking establishment (e.g., bar, saloon, tavern, tap room, etc.). It can include anything from a quarrel over a billiards game that escalates into a fistfight to a full-fledged bar brawl involving several patrons. Fists are the most common weapon used in barroom assaults, although it is not uncommon for broken bottles and glasses, knives, and other traditional weapons to be used. A substantial amount of violence also occurs just outside drinking places, in the street or in a parking lot.

Violence in public drinking places usually occurs after midnight, very often around closing time. In almost all cases of barroom violence, the offender, the victim, or both have been drinking. Men—especially young men—are more often involved in violent incidents than are women. In community surveys, for example, about half of the men who witness violence have done so in a public drinking place, and one-fourth of men who have been victims of violence describe the incident as occurring in a bar, compared with only 5 percent of women (Pernanen 1991). This discrepancy is likely due to gender-specific patterns of alcohol consumption, which indicate that men drink considerably more often than women and more often in public places.

Although women generally report experiencing alcohol-related violence in a private home, violence toward women and between women occurs in bars as well. Almost half of the women who frequent bars have been victims of severe physical violence (48 percent; assault) and severe sexual violence (33 percent; attempted and completed rape). Physical abuse toward women includes having objects (e.g., drink, glass) thrown at them, being beaten (e.g., punched, kicked), kidnapped, and choked. Sexual assault and rape do not usually occur inside bars but, rather, in an alley, car, or residence after a woman leaves the bar (Parks and Miller 1997).

Those taverns and bars that report a large number of violent incidents tend to be places where patrons have little prior knowledge of each other from other contexts. Some observers note an in-group aspect to the aggression that occurs between strangers: One patron would be wronged, and his friends would stand up to his defense. Escalation into physical violence is more likely in a group situation than in individual confrontations, since any one of the individuals involved could go past the point at which things “get out of hand” (Pernanen 1991).

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