Study suggests women more likely to suffer physical abuse during FIFA World Cup

According to the charity Women’s Aid men are more likely to physically abuse their partners when the football (soccer) team they support loses, draws or even wins a match in a football tournament. Women’s Aid are highlighting this situation now because it is particularly relevant with England’s progression in this year’s FIFA World Cup. The charity wants to remind women in the UK that services are available to help if they are subjected to violence or abuse.

Football related violence is not an anecdotal observation but has been confirmed by authoritative research

Football related violence is not an anecdotal observation but has been confirmed by authoritative research carried out at Lancaster University in the UK, by Kirby et al. and published in the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 2014, Vol. 51(3) 259-276. They found two statistically significant trends: First, a match day trend showed the risk of domestic abuse rose by 26 percent when the English national team won or drew, and a 38 percent increase when the national team lost. Second, a tournament trend was also apparent because reported domestic abuse incidents increased in frequency with each new international tournament played. This is the only known study on this topic and although specific to the England team’s performances it could be applicable to any country and possibly to other competitive sports. It also has significant ramifications due to the global nature of televised football tournaments.

The game of football has a long cultural association with both violence and masculinity

The game of football has a long cultural association with both violence and masculinity. One meta study by S.N. Geniole, et al. in Hormones and Behavior Volume 123, July 2020 104644, found that an increase in testosterone levels in men is positively correlated with an increase in aggression although the neurobiological causes for this are not well understood.

Excessive alcohol consumption is also a commonly observed factor associated with both football violence and domestic abuse. The risk of partner violence is often increased by excessive drinking and one report by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (October 2020) has highlighted alcohol consumption as a major contributory factor in domestic abuse cases.

While the game of football itself is not the cause of domestic abuse, it is an aggressive sport, it is about winners and losers and territorial domination and can be a trigger for men to lash out at their partner as a cathartic release of heightened emotion.

While these tournaments can exacerbate pre-existing abuse, it happens all year round, often hidden and unreported

A spokesperson for the UK charity Refuge welcomed efforts by the police to actively prosecute abusive perpetrators during this year’s football World Cup. They said “but this must extend beyond football. While these tournaments can exacerbate pre-existing abuse, it happens all year round, often hidden and unreported.”

For more information and support contact:

www.womensaid.org.uk or telephone 0808 2000 247

By our society correspondent