These drowsy days from Christmas up to and including New Year's Eve, meant as a time for relaxation, are sadly often marked by an increase in violence and crime. It makes sense that with more people out and about there are more opportunities for criminal activity. But this time of year is especially dangerous for one group in particular – women.
![The latest crime statistics show that reports of sexual assault, rape and intimate partner violence double, and in some ...](/web/20170101162444im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/0/i/x/p/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtjcr1.png/1483070432981.jpg)
The latest crime statistics show that reports of sexual assault, rape and intimate partner violence double, and in some cases, triple, at this time. In real terms, this rise means around 74 women a day across Australia are affected. And those are just the ones who are reporting it.
These statistics only tell some of the story. While they've taken a dip in the past year or so due to a larger police presence in public areas, intimate partner assaults and violence have either stayed steady or increased.
Christmas is a stressful time of the year for many families; there's usually more money going out, more running around, more time spent together as a unit. But the person who typically bears this burden is female. It's mothers who shop, not just for kids but for parents and in-laws. It's mothers and wives who typically take care of the food, from the groceries right through to the food preparation and organisation. It's mothers who have increased time with, and care for, kids on school holidays. And, if this wife or mother happens to be living with an abusive spouse, this is also the time of year when he expects more from her. Once again, it falls to women to bear the brunt of men's frustration and despair at a time when they are already under an extreme amount of stress themselves.
It's widely documented that abusers have an enlarged sense of entitlement so it's likely he'll want to relax because he believes he's worked harder, and longer than anyone. For many abusers, their sense of shame and perfectionism is projected onto their spouse and children. The kids, excited by the end of school and Christmas presents, must be quiet and perfectly behaved, for example, or he'll snap.
But there's another factor at play in public assaults in bars and on streets and even on the road at this time of year, one we don't hear about often enough in domestic situations – addiction, particularly to alcohol. This is not to say that alcohol causes violence, but, according to the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, the link is undeniable, with alcohol "responsible for up to 65 per cent of domestic incidents reported to police and up to 47 per cent of all child abuse cases reported in Australia". It also significantly increases the severity of injuries. There are not only more opportunities for the consumption of alcohol during the festive period, but more excuses for the perpetrator to "blow off steam".
It's morbidly ironic that at a time when people are warned to take "extra care" on roads and out with friends; when lock-out laws are in full effect, the most dangerous place for so many women, already under significant pressure, is in their own home.