Alcohol-Related Violence among the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of the Northern Territory: Prioritizing an Agenda for Prevention-Narrative Review Article.

• Main Authors: Ramya Ramamoorthi, Rama Jayaraj, Leonard Notaras, Mahiban Thomas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2014-05-01
• Series: Iranian Journal of Public Health
• Subjects: Alcohol misuse; Australia; Australian Aboriginal; Torres Strait Islanders; Trauma; Violence
• Online Access: https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/4123
• ISSN: 2251-6085; 2251-6093

Alcohol - related violence among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (also called as "Indigenous") is a major public health concern in Northern Territory of Australia. There is dearth of epidemiological data that link three contributing epidemics: alcohol misuse, violence, and trauma in the Northern Territory. In this review, we aimed to concentrate on how these epidemics intersect among the Indigenous people in the Northern Territory. In our descriptive review, we have searched published papers, publicly available government and health department reports web sites reporting relevant data on these three risk factors in the Northern Territory. The high rate of family and domestic violence and assaults in the Australian Territory indicates an increased correlation with high risk alcohol use compared to unintentional injuries. Heavy drinking pattern and harmful use of alcohol among Indigenous people are more likely to be associated with the incidence of violent assaults and physical injuries in the Northern Territory. We are trying to emphasize our understanding of co-occurring risk factors on the alcohol - violence relationship and urging a need for interventional approaches to reduce the public health issues in the Northern Territory.