The Critical Analysis of Nightclub Violence - Research Paper Example

?Nightclub Violence: Sorry incidents involving alcohol-fuelled violence keep making it to the news headlines in a staggering number presently which raises concern not only for the young community attending the clubs and club owners but also for the wellbeing of the society at large. Club goers after episodes of binge drinking among other drinking games tend to hit either the club owners or surrounding people on the slightest provocation especially in absence of safe zones in the clubs where people could go upon getting insanely drunk. Little arguments or even as minor things as bumping into another person soon degenerate into nasty fights under alcoholic influence. It is frequently claimed that such aggressive, intolerant, and violent behaviors are entrenched in alcohol abuse on behalf of club goers and irresponsibility on behalf of club owners. This is because not only more and more people attending clubs tend to engage in dangerous activities after losing control but also there are multiple adjustments which club owners do not consider and apply as a way of reducing the incidence of nightclub violence due to budget issues. This research paper aims at contemplating what the literature has to say on the growing issue of nightclub violence which has far-reaching ramifications for both youth’s wellbeing and public safety. The paper will also include critical analysis of the root causes of why nightclubs have come on frontline of drunken violence that results in crowding of emergency wards with assault victims every week. Risk of violence is significantly huge for the female gender because many girls pass out alone and defenseless quite soon after a few drinks and the night does not end well for most of them unless they be surrounded by conscious friends who are not drunk. Upon observing the young women arriving at Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley to have a big night out, reporters found many “girls unconscious or close to passing out on the street, sometimes on their own and highly vulnerable” (Murray & Lauth, 2012) at barely 9pm. Such girls readily become the target of violence because drunk state makes them very exposed and vulnerable. They are the ones who are at a high incidence of being raped by criminal men who are out every night in search of a prey. Shocked by astounding number of violence reports, one police and community safety minister has urged the young women to know their alcohol limits as he claims that “opportunistic predators will often target intoxicated young women” (Dempsey, cited in Murray & Lauth, 2012). This is also why local hospital emergency departments witness every weekend a huge number of female intoxicated assault victim entrees. Quite often after reaching the extreme end of intoxication young girls between ages of 15 and 24 get increasingly terrified and become easy targets of reckless endangerment. An Australian research shows that “those aged 20 to 24 years are three times more likely than all other age groups to have been victimized” (Teece & Williams, 2000) by alcohol-related violence in nightlife settings. Another reason why nightclub violence is entrenched in alcohol abuse is that many club goers admit to heavier drinking and report of being chased out of bars by men who have criminal intentions (Murray & Lauth, 2012). It is claimed that by one emergency specialist that one could witness the emergency rooms on any Sunday morning swamped by badly drunk young kids most of whom also happen to have been grossly attacked physically (Markwell, cited in Murray & Lauth, 2012). It is further claimed that ambulances are called nearly six times every night to carry the assault victims from the nightclubs or bars to the emergency departments and most of whom happen to be young women in a very sad physical state (Markwell, cited in Murray & Lauth, 2012). It is appalling that though with greater awareness about nightclub violence people acknowledge the risk but still do not take the matter seriously which is why incidents of drunken violence keep soaring. When contemplating the gross issue of nightclub violence and its malignant consequences and how alcohol abuse works to aggravate them, mentioning the world famous movie The Accused based on actual events is worth the effort. This particular movie caused a huge uproar in the whole world upon its release because it provided an explicit portrayal of nightclub violence tarnishing the busy nightlife in the USA. The movie portrays the tragedy of a young woman who after getting intoxicated in a bar at night makes herself remarkably vulnerable and exposed. Alone and defenseless, she barely starts having a good night out as intended when she becomes the sorry victim of vicious sexual greed of a group of rowdy men at the bar (Al-Taher, 2012). The night ends in an extremely tragic way for the young girl who after being gang raped by men while inside the bar checks into a local hospital’s emergency ward later in a barely conscious state. Present violence situation is really bad and aggravated in the American nightclubs, strip joints, and bars despite claims made about club owners that safety zones have been set up because majority of the arguments beginning inside the clubs or out at the streets ultimately culminate in spiteful insults exchange and vicious assaults. It is an indisputable reality grounded by research reports that club goers frequently become the tragic victims of criminal violence. Following the consistency in such reports, disciplinary authorities in Melbourne decided to take a step towards improvement and “proposed the introduction of a 1.00 am common closure for Melbourne Nightclubs to curb violence” (victimsofcrime.com.au, 2012). But people have argued against such a strategy to address drunken violence because they claim that this would only tend to aggravate the issues related to street violence. In other word, such an action will do nothing more than bringing violence from inside the clubs out on the streets because a drunk person does not turn into a sober person after crossing the threshold of the clubs or bars. It is claimed that “on a Friday or Saturday night up to 100,000 young patrons frequent Melbourne CBD Nightclubs” (victimsofcrime.com.au, 2012) and a 1am common closure will not only speed up violence but also overload hospital emergency wards. This is because the incidents of violence occurring immediately outside the clubs outnumber the incidents in which violence in the form of rapes, punching, etc. happens inside the clubs. “Most nightclub violence is committed outside the Nightclubs and usually within the last two hours of trading” (victimsofcrime.com.au, 2012; Zalewski, 2012). What needs to be addressed is the issue of alcohol abuse and more awareness programs should be funded for by the government to explain how this leads to myriad disastrous consequences like nightclub violence. “Community education programs must continue about alcohol-related violence” (victimsofcrime.com.au, 2012) because early closure times can quite effectively aggravate violence instead of curbing it. New South Wales has adopted a good policy in respect that it has ordered “mandatory license conditions for Nightclubs that experience significant levels of violence, including a 2.00 am lockout” (victimsofcrime.com.au, 2012). Arguments against 1am curfew also suggest that in addition to fueling more nightclub violence, such measures could also lead to “more predictable conflicts and antagonism as patrons move around the area and seek transport arrangements such as taxis” (Zalewski, 2012) once outside the club. This is true because when people will be forced to leave clubs, they will gather outside and the incidence of violence will then increase there. Another report also suggests that violence occurs more outside the clubs than inside them. Analysis of Fortitude Valley Mall every Saturday in Australia revealed that “seventy percent of the problems in the Valley happen in the streets not the clubs” (Bordini, cited in Lauth & Murray, 2012). Reports suggest that nightclub violence continues to chase the safety of the youth and the society in Australia. Every weekend, young people in a large number with facial injuries among other physical assaults are admitted in the emergency rooms following alcohol-related violence inside and outside nightclubs. Management of nightclubs and other entertainment places is not an easy job as a way of controlling and preventing violence particularly when as many as “100,000 young patrons frequent popular areas over a Friday or Saturday night” (Zalewski, 2012). But, it should be remembered that closure of all nightclubs at 1am is also not an answer to the growing issue of violence in nightlife settings. Those reading the local newspapers must be well aware of the high possibility of nightclub arguments turning into nasty brawls. In one such news, drunken violence was reported not in any notorious bar prone to outbreaks of angry offense but in one of the best bars in Central London named Met Bar. In this incident, soon after Robert and Carl checked into Met Bar a loud dispute occurred between a group and a waitress. The intoxicated group was reportedly behaving in a very objectionable way with the waitress and shouting crude insults which prompted another man attending the club to stab the members of the offensive group with a concealed hideous weapon which means that he was obviously not searched on entry by the guards and this reflects extreme irresponsibility on behalf of the club owners who are mainly concerned with making money and least bothered about the violence risks and safety measures. Less than 15 minutes had passed since the argument started in Met Bar and immediately afterwards, a group of people were chased after and dangerously stabbed by another man (Meggitt, 2012). There is also lack of responsibility on behalf of those servicing the club goers which effectively fuels nightclub violence because Tania, the waitress in question, did not bother to complain about the possibility of the vicious argument turning into an assault and did not alert the security. This reflects that the nightclubs’ management should be held liable whenever violence is reported because their irresponsible behavior certainly plays a role in encouraging the occurrence of malicious offense. All nightclub owners should make it their duty to protect the people from foreseeable harm caused by violent drunkards. Met Bar violence shows that alcohol can rapidly lead to violence and propel one person to assault another upon slightest argument and risks “could not be ignored even in a respectable private club such as this” (Meggitt, 2012). The catch-22 and an enigmatic paradox is that though alcohol use is repeatedly suggested to form the principal risk factor for both assault victims and perpetrators of nightclub violence, yet nightlife culture and environments around the globe essentially depend on alcohol. Myriad research studies have established relationship between alcohol use and nightclub violence and yet without alcohol, nightlife culture cannot exist. This is why nightclubs are frequently the scenes of bad violence which is often caused by young club goers and this inflicts influence not only on the youth but on the society as well. “Youth violence in nightlife can have devastating impacts on the health of young people and also places huge burdens on wider society” (Bellis, Hughes, & Anderson, n.d.). Alcohol-related violence in nightlife settings has now become extremely common but the sad thing is that this issue has not been taken seriously as yet because though relationship between youth violence and alcohol abuse is well documented, it is a deplorable reality that still “uniform data on alcohol-related youth violence in nightlife are not available at an international level” (Bellis, Hughes, & Anderson, n.d.). In one research report, the Trauma and Injury Intelligence Group collected injury data from one Liverpool accident and emergency department to evaluate the extent of the problem of youth violence in nightclubs. Results revealed that as many as 80% of assault victims aged between 15 and 29 who present themselves at the emergency department on weekend nights are found to be abusing alcohol in the nightclubs and of that 80% drunk population, “44% had been assaulted inside a pub or nightclub and 33% in the street” (Anderson, 2005). Similarly, another survey found “one in twenty young pub-goers in Amsterdam (Netherlands) had been involved in a fight while on a night out during the previous year” (Korf, Nabben, & Benscop, 2001). Such research surveys provide considerable insight into the extent of violence in nightlife settings. Research also suggests that alcohol exerts negative influence on cognitive and physical function of the brain which interferes with the ability to defend oneself and increases “young drinkers’ vulnerability to being both perpetrators and victims of violence” (Bellis, Hughes, & Anderson, n.d.). This explains why nightclubs are on the frontline of alcohol-related violence. Also, the belief associated with alcohol that it serves to boost confidence also plays a role in encouraging the young people to drink more at clubs in order to get prepared if the time comes to get involved in violence. It is also suggested that overly crowded and uncomfortable drinking venues work to increase the incidence of violence but the incident of Met Bar violence as already discussed refutes this claim because in that case, violence occurred not in any poorly managed and crowded bar but in a very reputable private nightclub. Another idea also suggests the possible role played by anti-social personality disorder in fueling the reports of nightclub violence. This could be true because anti-social personality disorder certainly works to increase violence and aggression in drinkers at nightclubs and also increases the incidence of heavy drinking and criminal behavior among those troubled by such clinical problems. But there is surely no way for the security guards to know who entering the club among a giant mass is influenced by anti-social personality disorder so this idea does not help much in context prevention and control measures. However apart from alcohol consumption, “being male, having a low educational attainment, being involved in other forms of anti-social behaviour, and having delinquent peers” (Bellis, Hughes, & Anderson, n.d.) are identified as some of the popular individual and relationship factors which increase the chances for young club goers of becoming both victims and perpetrators of nightclub violence. In addition to that, “poor availability of public transport and people hanging around after closing time” (Homel et al., 2004; Weitzman et al., 2003) have also been identified by research as significant factors that have the potential to fuel nightclub violence. Summing up, this much becomes clear from the above discussion that nightclub violence is a deplorable reality secret to none. Nightclubs mostly happen to be on frontline of violence caused by alcohol abuse. Though in many clubs special safe zones have been set up to grant people refuge when they get exceedingly drunk or are under threat, club owners still claim that drunken violence ensues despite safety measures. Alcohol use is a prominent risk factor among others which has great potential to fuel nightclub violence. As a prevention measure, though 1am nightclub curfew is not an effective answer but still people should not be allowed to enter clubs after midnight to reduce the incidence of violence. Moreover, research shows that the incidence of violence is particularly high for women who leave for homes drunk and alone after attending clubs later night. Strictest measures should be implemented by the official authorities against club owners who avoid setting up safety zones to keep the public from becoming easy victims of stalking, threat, assault, theft, and rape while attending clubs or other entertainment places. References: Al-Taher, S. (2012). Plot Summary for The Accused. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094608/plotsummary Anderson, Z. (2005). Data from the Trauma and Injury Intelligence Group. Liverpool: Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University. Bellis, M.A., Hughes, K., & Anderson, Z. (n.d.). An Introduction to Youth Violence, Alcohol, and Nightlife. Retrieved from http://www.12steptreatmentcentres.com/Articles/violence.pdf Homel, R., Carvolth, R., Hauritz, M., Mcllwain, G., & Teaque, R. (2004). Making licensed venues safer for patrons: what environmental factors should be the focus of interventions? Drug and Alcohol Review, 23, 19-29. Meggitt, R. (2012). Nightclub violence and beyond? ASD. Retrieved from http://www.asdonline.co.uk/news/nightclub-violence Korf, D.J., Nabben, T., & Benscop, A. (2001). Antenne 2001: Trends in alcohol, tabak, drugs en gokken bij jonge Amsterdammers. Amsterdam: Rozenberg Publishers. Lauth, L., & Murray, D. (2012, Jul 29). Nightclub on frontline of alcohol-fuelled violence. Herald Sun. Retrieved from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/nightclub-on-frontline-of-alcohol-fuelled-violence/story-fndo45r1-1226437541663 Murray, D., & Lauth, L. (2012, Jul 29). Pre-loaded swill girls pass out at 9pm, alone and vulnerable. Herald Sun. Retrieved from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/pre-loaded-swill-girls-pass-out-at-9pm-alone-and-vulnerable/story-fndo45r1-1226437541205 Teece, M., & Williams, P. (2000). Alcohol-related assault: time and place. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. victimsofcrime.com.au. (2012, Sep 25). Nightclub Violence – Melbourne CBD. Retrieved from Weitzman, E.R., Folkman, A., Folkman, K.L., & Wechsler, H. (2003). The relationship of alcohol outlet density to heavy and frequent drinking and drinking-related problems among college students at eight universities. Health and Place, 9, 1-6. Zalewski, T. (2012, Sep 21). Curfew could fuel more nightclub violence. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/curfew-could-fuel-more-nightclub-violence-20120921-26boy.html Read More