tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/liquor-laws-58263/articlesLiquor laws – The Conversation2020-12-07T19:06:54Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1514722020-12-07T19:06:54Z2020-12-07T19:06:54ZCaring for 66,455 revellers at risk delivers $7.5m harm-reduction benefit for Sydney<p>Our time of social isolation under COVID-19 restrictions has reinforced the importance of taking care of each other, particularly the most vulnerable in our community. As we consider what our post-COVID social world will look like, we have an opportunity to deliver services that make our cities safer and more inclusive. An example of how we might achieve this can be found in a Sydney harm-reduction service that has assisted tens of thousands of nightlife revellers who are vulnerable, in distress or at risk of harm since 2014. </p>
<p>A newly released <a href="https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/resource/evaluation-take-kare-safe-space-program">evaluation</a> conservatively estimates the benefits of the <a href="http://thomaskellyyouthfoundation.org.au/take-kare-safe-space">Take Kare Safe Space</a> (TKSS) program from December 2014 to April 2019 at A$7.46 million. That benefit includes the value of serious harm averted and the value attached to lives saved through program interventions.</p>
<p>While it may have been less prominent in our public and political consciousness this year, nightlife, and the way we socialise after dark, is a major part of our social and cultural life. It will return. </p>
<p>In Sydney, where trading restrictions – the so-called <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-s-lock-out-laws-to-be-wound-back-from-january-14-20191128-p53eyh.html">lockout laws</a> – were lifted in January following five years of controversy, we need to do nightlife better. We need to find the balance between safety and vibrancy. The city is a great place to go out, but also a place where we need to provide the right services for when things inevitably go wrong.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/where-are-they-now-what-public-transport-data-reveal-about-lockout-laws-and-nightlife-patronage-73521">Where are they now? What public transport data reveal about lockout laws and nightlife patronage</a>
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<h2>One part of the solution</h2>
<p>The TKSS program has been doing this throughout the lockout period in Sydney. Now operated by Stay Kind, the TKSS program was launched in 2014 following the unprovoked attack and subsequent <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/kieran-loveridge-sentence-for-killing-of-thomas-kelly-doubled-on-appeal-20140704-zsvk2.html">death of Thomas Kelly</a> in Kings Cross in 2012.</p>
<p>Operating year-round from 10pm to 4am on Friday and Saturday nights, it’s a non-judgmental, non-government, harm-reduction service. The program looks after nightlife revellers who are vulnerable, in distress or at risk of harm.</p>
<p>Teams of Take Kare ambassadors work in co-operation with the City of Sydney’s CCTV control room and other nightlife services to patrol key precincts, acting as critical intermediaries between emergency services. </p>
<p>During the evaluation, TKSS operated three static safe spaces at Town Hall, Kings Cross and Darling Harbour. Here, nightlife revellers can go to chill out, get help, charge their phones, or receive basic first aid.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aUMQLVHCbkM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A 2019 Current Affair report on Sydney’s Take Kare Safe Spaces.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Between December 2014 and April 2019, TKSS supported 66,455 people. Two-thirds of them were aged 18-25. Many (46%) were perceived as heavily intoxicated and at risk of harm.</p>
<h2>What is the evidence? Does it work?</h2>
<p>Researchers from UNSW Sydney and Central Queensland University recently completed a comprehensive independent <a href="https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/resource/evaluation-take-kare-safe-space-program">evaluation</a> of the TKSS program. Funded by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, the evaluation team analysed crime, emergency department and ambulance data to establish the benefit-cost ratio of the program. We also interviewed key stakeholders and “clients” about their perceptions of the program.</p>
<p>From December 2014 to April 2019 (inclusive), the benefits were estimated at $7.46 million. With operating costs of $2.79 million, the benefit-cost ratio was 2.67:1. In other words, a $1 investment in the program resulted in $2.67 of benefits. When the TKSS program was fully operational in all three safe space sites (in 2016-17), the benefit-cost ratio increased to 3.83:1.</p>
<p>These results are conservative. The return on investment is likely to be much higher given the analysis does not quantify the full spectrum of benefits associated with the program. These include: improved public safety and amenity; more efficient resource allocation for service providers; improved partnership, communication and resourcing to manage Sydney nightlife; and flow-on effects for tourism and investment.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sanitised-nightlife-precincts-become-places-where-some-are-not-welcome-95870">'Sanitised' nightlife precincts become places where some are not welcome</a>
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<h2>What are the strengths of TKSS?</h2>
<p>These non-quantifiable benefits featured strongly in interviews with stakeholders. They included staff from NSW Police and Ambulance, St Vincent’s Emergency Department, City of Sydney, licensed venues and those who used the service. They highlighted a number of key program strengths, including:</p>
<p><strong>1.</strong> the program fills a critical gap in nightlife safety – TKSS staff act as intermediaries between licensed premises and emergency services by providing services in public city spaces where people are most vulnerable – and it’s also easy to deploy in different locations as needed</p>
<p><strong>2.</strong> the non-judgmental, non-authoritative nature of the program meant intoxicated, vulnerable and distressed nightlife patrons were more comfortable speaking with TKSS ambassadors than other services – such as police, ambulance, venue security or city rangers – and this rapport helped encourage at-risk patrons to willingly get medical help when needed</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-alcohol-related-visits-to-inner-sydney-emergency-room-since-lockout-laws-introduced-92343">Fewer alcohol-related visits to inner Sydney emergency room since 'lockout laws' introduced</a>
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<p><strong>3.</strong> police, ambulance and accident and emergency staff said the TKSS program allowed them to focus on more urgent and pressing jobs</p>
<p><strong>4.</strong> the ambassadors are able to de-escalate conflict and provide welfare services through their early, proactive and non-judgmental interventions.</p>
<p>The evaluation shows the TKSS program provides a critical harm-reduction service in Sydney after dark. Its net economic benefit to the city is greatest when the full complement of Safe Spaces are operating and supported by sustained and stable funding. There is a clear case that the program should be part of the long-term future planning of a safe, inclusive and vibrant night-time economy.</p>
<p><em>Note: The TKSS program was suspended in March 2020 due to COVID-19 and is due to re-open in January 2021.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151472/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phillip Wadds was one of the academic team who undertook the evaluation of Safe Spaces. That evaluation was funded by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice. He does not currently receive any other external research funding. Since 2018, Phillip has been a member of the City of Sydney's Nightlife and Creative Sector Advisory Panel. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Shakeshaft was one of the academic team who undertook the evaluation of Safe Spaces. That evaluation was funded by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.</span></em></p>Amid the controversy over Sydney’s lockout laws, a program that looked out for people at risk of harm in the city’s nightlife precincts more than proved its worth.Phillip Wadds, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, UNSW SydneyAnthony Shakeshaft, Professor and Deputy Director at National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW SydneyChristopher Doran, Professor of Health Research Economics, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1252272019-10-29T19:24:00Z2019-10-29T19:24:00ZSydney lockout laws review highlights vital role of transparent data analysis<p>The New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) <a href="https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_media_releases/2019/mr-Impact-lockouts-on-the-CBD.aspx">recently claimed</a> Sydney’s alcohol licensing regulations, commonly known as <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/lockout-laws-26282">lockout laws</a>, reduced non-domestic assaults by 13% in the CBD. Its calculation relied on a decision to allocate 1,837 of these offences to both Kings Cross and the CBD – that is, double-counting the data. <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/ladocs/submissions/63631/Submission%20734%20-%20Centre%20for%20Translational%20Data%20Science,%20University%20of%20Sydney.pdf">Our analysis</a> found this decision was critical to the conclusion that assaults decreased in the CBD. For every other choice about the areas to which offences data were allocated and type of analysis we found no decrease. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298452/original/file-20191024-119433-7qnb4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298452/original/file-20191024-119433-7qnb4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298452/original/file-20191024-119433-7qnb4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298452/original/file-20191024-119433-7qnb4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298452/original/file-20191024-119433-7qnb4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298452/original/file-20191024-119433-7qnb4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298452/original/file-20191024-119433-7qnb4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Map of Sydney and the entertainment precincts as used by BOCSAR in its analysis: blue – CBD entertainment precinct; red – Kings Cross entertainment precinct; green – nearby displacement areas; yellow – outer displacement areas.</span>
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<p><a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/ladocs/submissions/63631/Submission%20734%20-%20Centre%20for%20Translational%20Data%20Science,%20University%20of%20Sydney.pdf%5D">Our findings</a> highlight an important question: how do the choices of data collection, pre-processing and analysis affect policy decisions?</p>
<p>The allocation of crimes to areas is just one of several choices made when using data to assess policy impacts. Other choices include how to measure violent crime, what time period to consider and the geographical extent of the areas to include. The question is: if other choices were made, would the results affect a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-08/sydney-lockout-laws-rolled-back/11489806">decision to repeal or continue the laws</a>? </p>
<p>Our findings point to the need to follow a couple of principles when using data to inform policymaking. First, the institution that collects data and the institution that analyses the data should be independent of each other. Second,
we need as much transparency about the data and its analysis as possible.</p>
<h2>So what exactly did the analyses show?</h2>
<p>BOCSAR chose to use monthly non-domestic assaults from 2009 onwards. There is nothing wrong with these choices, but others could have been made.</p>
<p>For instance, why from 2009 onwards, not from 2005? Why monthly, not daily? Why reported non-domestic assaults, not reported assaults causing grievous bodily harm? Why divide the area into the CBD and Kings Cross only? </p>
<p>One way of assessing the impact of such choices is to use different subsets of data, different types of data pre-processing and different statistical and/or machine-learning techniques. If the conclusion still remains the same, then our decision is robust to this source of variability. If not, we need to understand why.</p>
<p>For the Kings Cross precinct, the analysis by the Centre for Translational Data Science at the University of Sydney showed the conclusion remained unchanged irrespective of the frequency and period over which data were collected and the analysis performed. Non-domestic assaults had declined following the introduction of the lockout laws in 2014.</p>
<p>For the CBD the reverse was true. Only if we make exactly the same choices as BOCSAR, in particular allocating 1,837 crimes to both the CBD and King Cross, could we conclude non-domestic assaults had decreased very slightly. </p>
<p>Under all other variations of the analyses, including data, methodology and spatial allocation of that data, we found no decrease. Non-domestic assaults in the CBD had been decreasing since 2008 and, if anything, more slowly after the lockout laws took effect. </p>
<p>So why was the inclusion of 1,837 crimes so critical to the conclusions about the CBD? </p>
<p>Using data provided by BOCSAR, we plotted the most likely location of those 1,837 crimes. Figure 1 shows these crimes occurred mainly in Kings Cross, an area in which the crime rate had fallen since 2014. We say “most likely location” because we have yet to receive the additional data we requested from BOCSAR to help us locate exactly where these crimes occurred.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298427/original/file-20191023-119429-qgf5xh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298427/original/file-20191023-119429-qgf5xh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298427/original/file-20191023-119429-qgf5xh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298427/original/file-20191023-119429-qgf5xh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298427/original/file-20191023-119429-qgf5xh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298427/original/file-20191023-119429-qgf5xh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298427/original/file-20191023-119429-qgf5xh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298427/original/file-20191023-119429-qgf5xh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Counts of crimes (per SA1 region) that were assigned to both the CBD and Kings Cross.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Centre for Translational Data Science</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>With the removal of those 1,837 crimes from the CBD, we detected no decrease in non-domestic assaults. But BOCSAR apparently did. After removing those crimes from the CBD, BOCSAR released an <a href="https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Documents/BB/2019-Report-Effect-of-lockout-and-last-drinks-laws-on-assaults-BB142.pdf">updated report</a> to a <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/listofcommittees/Pages/committee-details.aspx?pk=260">parliamentary inquiry into Sydney’s night-time economy</a>. This report claimed assaults in the CBD decreased by 4% (much less than the original 13%). </p>
<p>The committee then asked for our <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/ladocs/other/12591/Centre%20for%20Translational%20Data%20Science.pdf">comments</a>. We found the report did not provide a confidence interval for this decrease. Yet the report made a virtue of reporting uncertainty estimates for other quantities and elsewhere it claimed “statistically significant” results. </p>
<p>We replicated BOCSAR’s analysis and found the change in crime could have been as low as a 12% decrease and as high as a 6% increase. In other words, the result is “statistically insignificant”. </p>
<h2>What are the implications for making policy?</h2>
<p>Why does this matter? There are two reasons. </p>
<p>First, the danger in not explaining, quantifying and reporting uncertainty is that the public loses trust in data-driven policymaking. Only if conclusions acknowledge and explain the uncertainty inherent in inferring complex quantities from data can we make robust and explainable policy decisions that build trust with the public. </p>
<p>Second, if we don’t accept and report uncertainty we could stop looking for other explanations. We might then fail to achieve an outcome that everyone wants: a reduction in violence and a healthy night-time economy.</p>
<p>How do we proceed from here? We’d make two recommendations: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The institution that collects and curates the data should be distinct, informed but independent from the institution/s that analyse the data. </p></li>
<li><p>There should be as much data transparency as possible, which would enable different groups to perform different types of analyses, using different sources of data. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>We are almost certain these different groups would produce different findings, but the subsequent discussion could provide insights that move us closer to more robust and acceptable policy decisions. </p>
<p>To <a href="https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/08/27/richard-feynman-on-the-role-of-scientific-culture-in-modern-society/">quote</a> Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If we will only allow that, as we progress, we remain unsure, we will leave opportunities for alternatives … to make progress, one must leave the door to the unknown ajar.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/ladocs/inquiries/2519/Report%20-%20Sydneys%20night%20time%20economy.pdf">parliamentary committee’s recommendation</a> that BOCSAR and the Centre for Translational Data Science work together more closely appears to do just that. We look forward to an ongoing collaboration to further our understanding of the drivers of violent crime.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125227/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The collection and analysis of data used for making policy should be independent and open to ensure public trust in decision-making. The debate over alcohol licensing shows why this matters.Sally Cripps, Professor of Statistics, Director of Centre for Translational Data Science, University of SydneyRoman Marchant, Senior research fellow and lecturer, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1211172019-08-14T19:58:44Z2019-08-14T19:58:44ZTighter alcohol licensing hasn’t killed live music, but it’s harder for emerging artists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287327/original/file-20190808-144862-49ovmf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fortitude Valley is unique in Australia for its concentration of live music venues, like The Valley Drive In, in one small neighbourhood.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/thevalleydrivein/">The Valley Drive In/Facebook</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is the fourth in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/quantem-74665">series of articles</a> discussing a <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2019/7/26/evaluation-of-measures-to-tackle-alcoholfuelled-violence">recently released</a> <a href="https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2019/5619T1074.pdf">comprehensive evaluation</a> of the Queensland government’s <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/act-2016-004#">2016 policy reforms to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence</a> and the implications for liquor regulation and the night-time economy in Queensland and Australia. A <a href="http://quantem.info/">summary report</a> is also available.</em></p>
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<p>The effect on live music of changes to trading conditions in nightlife precincts <a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-lockouts-sydney-needs-to-become-a-more-inclusive-city-55821">generates heated debate</a>. That’s because live music matters. It is a unique and important part of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-melbourne-the-music-capital-of-australia-sydney-or-adelaide-might-pip-it-to-the-post-77087">late-night rhythm and culture of the city</a>.</p>
<p>In both <a href="https://theconversation.com/melbourne-music-week-rocks-but-dont-take-the-feedback-for-granted-19147">Melbourne</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/lockout-laws-repeat-centuries-old-mistake-of-denying-value-of-cities-as-messy-places-58281">Sydney</a>, we’ve seen sustained debate about how urban development and regulation of licensed venues affect opportunities for live performance.</p>
<p>Contrary to some of the claims made in these debates, our evaluation of the Queensland government’s <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2019/7/26/evaluation-of-measures-to-tackle-alcoholfuelled-violence">tightening of liquor licensing restrictions in 2016</a> suggests no change to the number of venues or impact on the overall trend of an increase in live music performances. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-queensland-on-alcohol-violence-and-the-night-time-economy-121114">Lessons from Queensland on alcohol, violence and the night-time economy</a>
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<p>But staging smaller shows by emerging artists has become more difficult because of the costs of new security requirements. The viability of the venues depends on selling alcohol. As a result, many venues depend on alcohol sales in late-night trade when they convert to being a bar or club with DJs.</p>
<h2>What happened in Fortitude Valley?</h2>
<p>In July 2016, the Queensland government <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-queensland-on-alcohol-violence-and-the-night-time-economy-121114">changed laws</a> affecting designated safe night precincts like Fortitude Valley in Brisbane. This included serving last drinks at 3am and mandatory ID scanning in venues trading after midnight.</p>
<p>We <a href="https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2019/5619T1074.pdf">monitored what impact these changes to trading conditions might have on live music</a> in Fortitude Valley.</p>
<p>The Valley is unique in Australia for its concentration of live music venues in one small neighbourhood and the early development of <a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-and-building/planning-guidelines-and-tools/other-plans-and-projects/valley-special-entertainment-precinct/valley-music-harmony-plan">policy </a> to protect and foster live music in the area. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-live-music-scene-needs-a-live-music-policy-20140">A live music scene needs a live music policy</a>
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<p>The Valley has two overlapping precincts. The special entertainment precinct was created in 2006 to provide regulatory certainty for live music venues. The safe night precinct is the area subject to the 2016 <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/act-2016-004#">Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence legislation</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286840/original/file-20190805-117871-6cnkl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286840/original/file-20190805-117871-6cnkl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286840/original/file-20190805-117871-6cnkl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286840/original/file-20190805-117871-6cnkl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286840/original/file-20190805-117871-6cnkl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286840/original/file-20190805-117871-6cnkl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286840/original/file-20190805-117871-6cnkl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286840/original/file-20190805-117871-6cnkl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of the special entertainment precinct (red) and safe night precinct (blue) boundaries in Fortitude Valley. MPC = Monthly Percentage Change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Live music venues in the Valley compete with large clubs and pubs for space. They are subject to the regulatory and compliance frameworks introduced to contain harms in the precinct. As a result, they are having to rethink how they maintain their distinctive music scenes in rapidly changing neighbourhoods.</p>
<h2>Have live music venue numbers changed?</h2>
<p>Despite its cultural and economic importance of original live music venues, their numbers and performances are not systematically and independently monitored in Australia. Music industry bodies could work with performers and venues to publish independent and reliable information about the number and type of venues and gigs over time.</p>
<p>Music rights licensing organisation <a href="http://apraamcos.com.au/">APRA/AMCOS</a> asks live music performers to submit performance returns that document all their live performances. Our analysis of this data shows live music performances in The Valley have been trending upward since 2001. Our evaluation suggests the Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence policy measures had no impact on this trend. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286842/original/file-20190805-117910-1szi7jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286842/original/file-20190805-117910-1szi7jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286842/original/file-20190805-117910-1szi7jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286842/original/file-20190805-117910-1szi7jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286842/original/file-20190805-117910-1szi7jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286842/original/file-20190805-117910-1szi7jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286842/original/file-20190805-117910-1szi7jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286842/original/file-20190805-117910-1szi7jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The number of live music performances per month in Fortitude Valley between the 2001 and 2018 financial years. MPC refers to Monthly Percentage Change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This APRA/AMCOS performance data, however, cover everything from cover bands, DJs and ambient music in restaurants and bars to original live music performances in small venues through to stadium rock shows.</p>
<p>We also used a combination of precinct walk-throughs (where we observed original live music venues trading on Saturday nights), street press and social media. We found the number of original live music venues in the Valley has not changed since last drinks and ID scanner regulations were introduced in 2016. While original live music venues come and go, change owners and change names, the overall number in the area has been stable for much of the past 15 years.</p>
<h2>Live music is dependent on late-night trade</h2>
<p>While the trading pattern of venues on Saturday nights has not changed, in interviews we conducted venue owners and managers reported various ways they subsidised or supplemented the income from live music.</p>
<p>Nearly all original live music venues only generate income from bar sales. Proceeds from tickets and the door go to production costs and the musicians. The viability of the venues depends on selling alcohol before, during and after performances.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/queenslanders-are-among-our-heaviest-drinkers-on-nights-out-and-changing-that-culture-is-a-challenge-121115">Queenslanders are among our heaviest drinkers on nights out, and changing that culture is a challenge</a>
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<p>Some venues used profit generated on large weekend shows to subsidise smaller local weeknight shows. These shows matter because they provide opportunities for emerging artists to hone their craft and are part of the distinctive cultural fabric of the city.</p>
<p>However, venue owners indicated that staging these smaller shows has become more difficult because of the prohibitive cost of employing security to operate the mandatory ID scanners. This illustrates how, according to venue owners, efforts to contain harm in the nightlife economy can have unintended damaging effects on cultural scenes.</p>
<p>The majority of venues that support original live music in the precinct are less than ten years old. Many seem well adapted to the commercialised late-night precinct because they combine live music with late-night trade. They put on a show early in the evening and then by midnight convert to a late-night bar or club with DJs.</p>
<p>Some of these venues claimed they would not be commercially viable if they only put on original live music before midnight and then closed. Others indicated live music enabled them to generate revenue earlier in the evening - before a clubbing crowd comes in.</p>
<h2>A policy dilemma</h2>
<p>This kind of adaptation is what you’d expect to see in a market as it reacts to changes in both consumer culture and policy. But it raises thorny questions for cultural and public health policy.</p>
<p>From a public health perspective we might be concerned about original live music becoming dependent on late-night trade and mass alcohol consumption in nightlife precincts. From a cultural policy perspective the ingenuity of venues using the earlier hours of an evening to stage original live music is something to encourage.</p>
<p>The Valley has a unique concentration of live music venues, and cultural policy has played a role in fostering and sustaining this vibrant cultural scene. In one sense that’s a success story the city should celebrate and look to capitalise on alongside the effort to reduce harms in nightlife precincts. But, in another sense, a critical issue is that the effort to both maintain cultural vibrancy and reduce harms is potentially thwarted by venues shifting to a homogenous late-night clubbing model.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121117/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Carah's research has been funded by Queensland state government. He is affiliated with the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education as a non-executive director. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Ferris receives funding from from Australian Research Council and Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, grants from State (Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland) and Federal Governments, National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, University of Queensland, National Institute of Health, Global Drug Survey. He is affiliated with the Global Drug Survey and the Queensland Mental Health Commission.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lachlan Goold and Scott Regan do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The good news is that the growth of live music continued under Queensland’s liquor licensing reforms. The bad news is that venues rely on late-night alcohol sales to cover costs.Nicholas Carah, Senior Lecturer in Communication, The University of QueenslandJason Ferris, Associate Professor, Program Leader for Research and Statistical Support Service and Program Leader for Substance Use and Mental Health, Centre for Health Services Research, The University of QueenslandLachlan Goold, Head of Audio Engineering and Sound Production (Brisbane), JMC AcademyScott Regan, Lecturer in Music and Sound, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1211162019-08-13T20:17:52Z2019-08-13T20:17:52ZUnwanted sexual attention plagues young women going out at night<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287453/original/file-20190809-144851-1p50545.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For young women in Queensland, the risk of unwanted sexual attention is high when they go out at night.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">vchalShutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is the third in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/quantem-74665">series of articles</a> discussing a <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2019/7/26/evaluation-of-measures-to-tackle-alcoholfuelled-violence">recently released</a> <a href="https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2019/5619T1074.pdf">comprehensive evaluation</a> of the Queensland government’s <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/act-2016-004#">2016 policy reforms to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence</a> and the implications for liquor regulation and the night-time economy in Queensland and Australia. A <a href="http://quantem.info/">summary report</a> is also available.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>A disturbingly high proportion of young people, particularly women, experience unwanted sexual attention in entertainment districts across Queensland. </p>
<p>This is the bad news from a two-year, <a href="https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2019/5619T1074.pdf">independent evaluation</a> of the Queensland government’s 2016 “Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence” (TAFV) policy (the good news included a <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-queensland-on-alcohol-violence-and-the-night-time-economy-121114">significant statewide reduction in serious assaults</a>). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-queensland-on-alcohol-violence-and-the-night-time-economy-121114">Lessons from Queensland on alcohol, violence and the night-time economy</a>
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<p>One in three patrons reported unwanted sexual attention – including harassment, unwanted touching, or sexual gestures – in or around a licensed venue in the preceding three months. Among those who reported unwanted sexual attention, two in three women (68%) also reported physical and/or verbal aggression.</p>
<p>The rate of unwanted sexual attention was highest for young women (ages 18-24). More than 50% had experienced this harm in the previous three months, as the chart below shows.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286856/original/file-20190805-117861-kq3dkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286856/original/file-20190805-117861-kq3dkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286856/original/file-20190805-117861-kq3dkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286856/original/file-20190805-117861-kq3dkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286856/original/file-20190805-117861-kq3dkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286856/original/file-20190805-117861-kq3dkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286856/original/file-20190805-117861-kq3dkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Proportion of patrons in Cairns, Fortitude Valley and Surfers Paradise entertainment districts who experienced unwanted sexual attention in the 3 months prior, by sex and age category.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the Fortitude Valley entertainment district, a staggering one in four reported unwanted sexual attention on the night they were interviewed (26% of 262 female patrons interviewed and followed up the next day).</p>
<p>Over the two-year evaluation, 4,055 patrons (43% female) were interviewed on Saturday nights on the streets of three entertainment districts – Cairns, Fortitude Valley (Brisbane) and Surfers Paradise (Gold Coast). </p>
<p>While the rates fluctuated over time in these areas, the rate of unwanted sexual attention didn’t change when comparing the months before and after the TAFV policy took effect. The chart below shows the trend for Fortitude Valley.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286857/original/file-20190805-117893-237abq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286857/original/file-20190805-117893-237abq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286857/original/file-20190805-117893-237abq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286857/original/file-20190805-117893-237abq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286857/original/file-20190805-117893-237abq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286857/original/file-20190805-117893-237abq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286857/original/file-20190805-117893-237abq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Proportion of patrons in Fortitude Valley entertainment district who experienced unwanted sexual attention by month and year (June 2016 – June 2018).</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Uncomfortable truths</h2>
<p>These findings highlight some uncomfortable truths. </p>
<p>First, the unwanted sexual attention young women experience in the night-time economy is an intransigent <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)30991-7/fulltext">public health</a> and safety problem. </p>
<p>Second, the issue is considerably <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10345329.2012.12035957">under-researched</a>. </p>
<p>Third, overcoming the problem requires discussion beyond alcohol accessibility and drinking practices.</p>
<p>The findings of the evaluation sit against a backdrop of increasing global intolerance of the sexual abuse and harassment of women. For example, the number of women reporting sexual assault to Queensland Police has <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4510.0%7E2018%7EMain%20Features%7EQueensland%7E9">increased for the past six years</a>. This increase might be attributable to the raising of public consciousness (e.g. <a href="https://theconversation.com/metoo-has-changed-the-media-landscape-but-in-australia-there-is-still-much-to-be-done-111612">the “Me Too” campaign</a>).</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/metoo-has-changed-the-media-landscape-but-in-australia-there-is-still-much-to-be-done-111612">#MeToo has changed the media landscape, but in Australia there is still much to be done</a>
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<p>Such awareness-raising has had impacts on broader social norms around sexual aggression towards women. But the evaluation suggests this messaging has largely failed to permeate the social norms of the night-time economy. </p>
<h2>Why haven’t nightlife norms changed?</h2>
<p>Understanding and addressing the mechanisms behind unwanted social attention in this context is particularly challenging. In addition to the broader social norms, licensed venues have their own cultural norms – including sexualised environments and heavy drinking – that often <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10345329.2012.12035957">contribute to unwanted sexual attention</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/queenslanders-are-among-our-heaviest-drinkers-on-nights-out-and-changing-that-culture-is-a-challenge-121115">Queenslanders are among our heaviest drinkers on nights out, and changing that culture is a challenge</a>
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<p>Recent experimental research suggests unwanted sexual attention in these settings may be related to males misperceiving the social environmental cues. They read <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14659891.2016.1179804">alcohol presence</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dar.12214">alcohol consumption and revealing dress</a> by females as signs of sexual interest. They might have been influenced by decades of sexualised alcohol marketing. </p>
<p>Such research highlights the need to better understand the risk and protective factors affecting victims and perpetrators of sexual aggression, and how these factors interact with cues in the physical environment. </p>
<h2>Responsibility is broadly shared</h2>
<p>These findings have many implications for policy and practice. </p>
<p>For a start, many experiences of unwanted sexual attention sit beyond the boundaries of the law. This raises a number of questions. Who is responsible for acting on unwanted sexual attention in and around licensed venues? And is it time to reassess the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0966369X.2015.1090413">individualisation of responsibility</a> in entertainment districts?</p>
<p>One strategy that attributes some responsibility to venue staff has been trialled in cities such as London, Chicago, Vancouver and Melbourne. The <a href="http://www.goodnightoutcampaign.org/">Good Night Out initiative</a> aims to train and empower licensed venue staff to act as capable guardians (instead of bystanders) who intervene in incidents of unwanted sexual attention. While theoretically such approaches are promising, the evidence for such targeted strategies remains limited. </p>
<p>The pervasive problem of unwanted sexual attention in night-time economies also requires attention from local and state governments. Strategies that specifically address this harm should be embedded in alcohol policy. </p>
<p>Without a more sophisticated approach that targets all types of aggression, young women will likely continue to experience high rates of unwanted sexual attention on their nights out.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-harm-done-sexual-entertainment-districts-make-the-city-a-more-threatening-place-for-women-81091">No harm done? 'Sexual entertainment districts' make the city a more threatening place for women</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121116/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominique de Andrade was a member of the research team led by Deakin University (Peter Miller) and University of Queensland (Jason Ferris) to evaluate the Queensland Government’s “Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence” (TAFV) legislation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cheneal Puljevic was a member of the research team led by Deakin University (Peter Miller) and The University of Queensland (Jason Ferris) to evaluate the Queensland Government’s “Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence” (TAFV) legislation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kerri Coomber receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Northern Territory Government, and Queensland Government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Miller receives funding from Australian Research Council and Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, grants from NSW Government, National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, Cancer Council Victoria, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Northern Territory government, Australian Rechabites Foundation, Northern Territory Primary Health Network, Lives Lived Well, Queensland government and Australian Drug Foundation, travel and related costs from Queensland Police Service, Queensland Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing and the Australasian Drug Strategy Conference. He has acted as a paid expert witness on behalf of a licensed venue and a security firm. </span></em></p>Rates of unwelcome advances haven’t changed under Queensland’s ‘Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence’ policies. In one entertainment district, it happened to 26% of women the night they were interviewed.Dominique de Andrade, The University of QueenslandCheneal Puljević, Research Fellow, Centre for Health Services Research, The University of QueenslandKerri Coomber, Research Fellow, Deakin UniversityPeter Miller, Professor of Violence Prevention and Addiction Studies, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1211152019-08-12T20:03:40Z2019-08-12T20:03:40ZQueenslanders are among our heaviest drinkers on nights out, and changing that culture is a challenge<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287143/original/file-20190807-84240-1kugd6f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Queenslanders are drinking heavily when they go out and breathalyser tests show most don't realise how drunk they are.</span> </figcaption></figure><p><em>This is the second in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/quantem-74665">series of articles</a> discussing a <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2019/7/26/evaluation-of-measures-to-tackle-alcoholfuelled-violence">recently released</a> <a href="https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2019/5619T1074.pdf">comprehensive evaluation</a> of the Queensland government’s <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/act-2016-004#">2016 policy reforms to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence</a> and the implications for liquor regulation and the night-time economy in Queensland and Australia. A <a href="http://quantem.info/">summary report</a> is also available.</em></p>
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<p><a href="https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2019/5619T1074.pdf">Our evaluation</a> of the Queensland government’s 2016 “<a href="https://www.thepremier.qld.gov.au/newsroom/alcohol-fuelled-violence.aspx">Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence</a>” (TAFV) policy has found Queenslanders are still drinking more heavily than people in other states when going out at night. </p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-queensland-on-alcohol-violence-and-the-night-time-economy-121114">significant reductions in serious assaults and other health-related outcomes</a>, reported levels of aggression are also high. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-queensland-on-alcohol-violence-and-the-night-time-economy-121114">Lessons from Queensland on alcohol, violence and the night-time economy</a>
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<p>Queenslanders report much higher levels of aggression than reported in our previous studies, which asked the same question in <a href="http://www.deakinvpg.info/dashed">Canberra, Hobart</a>, <a href="http://www.deakinvpg.info/pointed">Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Wollongong, Geelong</a> and <a href="http://www.deakinvpg.info/dante">Newcastle</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287147/original/file-20190807-84210-39li2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287147/original/file-20190807-84210-39li2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287147/original/file-20190807-84210-39li2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287147/original/file-20190807-84210-39li2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287147/original/file-20190807-84210-39li2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287147/original/file-20190807-84210-39li2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287147/original/file-20190807-84210-39li2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287147/original/file-20190807-84210-39li2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Table 1. Percentage of interviewees who report being involved in aggression in and around night-time entertainment precincts in the previous three months.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2019/5619T1074.pdf">QUANTEM final report</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Female patrons reported experiencing more of all types of aggression than men across all precincts. The next article in this series highlights the worrying number of women who experience unwanted sexual attention while out.</p>
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<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unwanted-sexual-attention-plagues-young-women-going-out-at-night-121116">Unwanted sexual attention plagues young women going out at night</a>
</strong>
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<p>To measure the impact of the 2016 policy changes on alcohol consumption, illicit drug use and aggression, our research teams conducted <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-017-4811-9">street intercept surveys</a> on Saturday nights in Fortitude Valley (Brisbane), Surfers Paradise and Cairns between 2016 and 2018. All participants were breathalysed. Every fifth person was invited to participate in a saliva drug swab. </p>
<p>Across the precincts, 4,401 people – 57% of them male – completed surveys. </p>
<h2>Blood alcohol concentration (BAC)</h2>
<p>Half of patrons’ blood alcohol concentration (BAC in g/dL) readings were over 0.077 (the median value, with a range of 0.000-0.300) in Fortitude Valley, 0.086 (range 0.000-0.290) in Surfers Paradise and 0.087 (range 0.000-0.289) in Cairns. The highest reading, 0.300, is six times the legal driving limit.</p>
<p>These median BAC levels are much higher than other, previously studied cities. The results highlight the challenges of achieving change in Queensland’s drinking culture.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287337/original/file-20190808-144892-1m484o4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287337/original/file-20190808-144892-1m484o4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287337/original/file-20190808-144892-1m484o4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287337/original/file-20190808-144892-1m484o4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287337/original/file-20190808-144892-1m484o4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287337/original/file-20190808-144892-1m484o4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287337/original/file-20190808-144892-1m484o4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287337/original/file-20190808-144892-1m484o4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Table 2. Patrons’ median blood alcohol concentration (BAC in g/dL) and range of readings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2019/5619T1074.pdf">QUANTEM final report</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly, most patrons are more drunk than they <em>think</em> they are. Before undertaking a breath test patrons were asked to guess their level of intoxication. For example, in Cairns, patrons’ median guess of their BAC reading was 0.070, compared to the measured median of 0.087. </p>
<h2>Pre-drinking</h2>
<p>High alcohol consumption when going out to night-time entertainment precincts includes <a href="https://academic.oup.com/alcalc/article/54/4/378/5486344">pre-drinking</a> (drinking at home before going out; also known as pre-gaming, pre-partying or pre-loading in other countries). As our research teams have documented <a href="http://www.deakinvpg.info/pointed">since 2012</a>, pre-drinking has continued to increase. </p>
<p>With 84% of all patrons reporting pre-drinking before going out, Queensland shows higher levels than in most other previously studied cities. </p>
<p>Overall, male patrons drank significantly more than female patrons when pre-drinking. In Fortitude Valley, though, female patrons were significantly more likely to pre-drink than males.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/womens-alcohol-consumption-catching-up-to-men-why-this-matters-67454">Women's alcohol consumption catching up to men: why this matters</a>
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<p>It’s a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dar.12525">common belief</a> that patrons choose to pre-drink to avoid buying more expensive drinks while they’re out in bars or clubs. But we found patrons who reported pre-drinking were more likely to drink more heavily across the night. They also reported drinking for longer than those who did not pre-drink.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2019/5619T1074.pdf">Our report</a> also shows the rate of pre-drinking across the precincts remained mostly stable in the two years after the TAFV policy was introduced in 2016. This suggests it did not affect rates of pre-drinking.</p>
<h2>Illicit drug use</h2>
<p>Rates of self-reported illicit drug use varied between precincts, from 13% of patrons in Fortitude Valley to 25% of all patrons in Surfers Paradise.</p>
<p>Ecstasy was the most commonly used illicit substance reported by patrons (5.5%), followed by cannabis (4%).</p>
<p>Among those who completed saliva drug swabs, the most commonly detected substances were amphetamines in Fortitude Valley and Cairns. In Surfers Paradise, however, it was methamphetamine; with 23.5% of patrons interviewed in Surfers Paradise testing positive for the substance.</p>
<p>Although rates of illicit drug use fluctuated in the two years after the TAFV policy was introduced, overall rates remained largely stable. This indicates the policy did not result in a clear increase or decrease in illicit drug use.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fact-check-only-drugs-and-alcohol-together-cause-violence-12466">Fact check: only drugs and alcohol together cause violence</a>
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<h2>So what does it all mean?</h2>
<p>Historically, Queensland has high levels of harmful consumption of alcohol, especially in high-risk groups. Around <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4364.0.55.001%7E2017-18%7EMain%20Features%7EAlcohol%20consumption%7E100">46% of Queenslanders</a> have exceeded single-occasion risk guidelines in the past year, higher than in New South Wales and Victoria. </p>
<p>There has been significant investment in education campaigns across social media and in schools. Despite this, Queenslanders continue to show hazardous levels of alcohol consumption, illicit drug use and experiences of aggression. </p>
<p>Changing cultural patterns relating to pre-drinking and alcohol-related harms will not be easy. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dar.12274">Previous research</a> suggests further tightening of licensed venues’ trading hours will help. Our report recommendations include introducing a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26098040">minimum unit price on alcohol</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19594797">promoting low-risk drinking guidelines</a> at all points of sale across Queensland. </p>
<p>Our report also recommends trialling live music early in the night to try to bring people into entertainment districts earlier. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tighter-alcohol-licensing-hasnt-killed-live-music-but-its-harder-for-emerging-artists-121117">Tighter alcohol licensing hasn't killed live music, but it's harder for emerging artists</a>
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<p>Despite the promising results of government policy efforts to date, our evaluation suggests the work to reduce alcohol-related harm across Queensland is not finished. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-can-you-change-a-violent-drinking-culture-by-changing-how-people-drink-38426">FactCheck: can you change a violent drinking culture by changing how people drink?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121115/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Ferris receives funding from from Australian Research Council and Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, grants from State (Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland) and Federal Governments, National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, University of Queensland, National Institute of Health, Global Drug Survey. He is affiliated with the Global Drug Survey and the Queensland Mental Health Commission.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cheneal Puljevic was a member of the research team led by Deakin University (Peter Miller) and The University of Queensland (Jason Ferris) to evaluate the Queensland Government’s “Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence” (TAFV) legislation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Miller receives funding from Australian Research Council and Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, grants from NSW Government, National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, Cancer Council Victoria, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Northern Territory government, Australian Rechabites Foundation, Northern Territory Primary Health Network, Lives Lived Well, Queensland government and Australian Drug Foundation, travel and related costs from Queensland Police Service, Queensland Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing and the Australasian Drug Strategy Conference. He has acted as a paid expert witness on behalf of a licensed venue and a security firm. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Wood does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Even after ‘Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence’ policies took effect in 2016, Queenslanders still drink more heavily on nights out. Reported levels of aggression are higher than in other states too.Jason Ferris, Associate Professor, Program Leader for Research and Statistical Support Service and Program Leader for Substance Use and Mental Health, Centre for Health Services Research, The University of QueenslandBarbara Wood, Research Assistant, The University of QueenslandCheneal Puljević, Research Fellow, Centre for Health Services Research, The University of QueenslandPeter Miller, Professor of Violence Prevention and Addiction Studies, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1012492018-08-15T23:03:04Z2018-08-15T23:03:04ZWhy Doug Ford should think twice about changing booze and weed laws<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231776/original/file-20180813-2912-sfango.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ontario Premier Doug Ford arrives for the buck-a-beer plan announcement at Barley Days brewery in Picton, Ont., on Aug. 7, 2018. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ontario Premier Doug Ford is making good on his <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2018/08/premier-doug-ford-announces-return-of-buck-a-beer-to-ontario.html">“buck a beer” campaign promise</a>, is pledging to <a href="https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2018/07/doug-ford-throne-speech/">put beer and wine in corner stores</a> and has just announced his intention to <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/cannabis/2018/08/13/ontario-will-rely-on-private-sector-to-sell-recreational-cannabis.html">give distribution of cannabis to private retailers.</a></p>
<p>Supporters say it’s about freedom of trade and the right of individuals to manage their own consumption. It’s all very populist and sounds great, and certainly fewer restrictions are what a free market wants. But is it a good idea?</p>
<p>Most arguments about liberalizing Ontario’s liquor system fall back on the assertion that it is a “<a href="https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/prohibition-era-liquor-policies-continue-ontario-and-bc">Prohibition-era</a>” regime that needs fixing, is overly restrictive, <a href="https://thevarsity.ca/2006/07/24/in-soviet-ontario-vodka-buys-you/">(and comparable to stores in the former Soviet Union)</a> and insulting to individuals who just want to have a nice intoxicated time. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232170/original/file-20180815-2897-11pbqtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232170/original/file-20180815-2897-11pbqtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232170/original/file-20180815-2897-11pbqtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232170/original/file-20180815-2897-11pbqtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232170/original/file-20180815-2897-11pbqtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232170/original/file-20180815-2897-11pbqtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232170/original/file-20180815-2897-11pbqtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A Prohibition-era raid at Elk Lake, in northern Ontario, in 1925.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Creative Commons)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The implication is simple: We know Prohibition didn’t work and we know the Soviet Union fell, so why do we have a system based upon those failures?</p>
<p>Yet these arguments have little basis in history. Before you dismantle a system, it’s a good idea to know why it was established in the first place. </p>
<h2>‘Rampant drunkenness’</h2>
<p>Ontario’s liquor system was actually born in 1876, well before Prohibition. That was the year that Ontario centralized the liquor licensing system. It was designed to address rampant drunkenness in many communities across the province, problems exacerbated by free-market economics and municipal politics. </p>
<p>Before then, <a href="https://archive.org/details/n03ontariosession06ontauoft">local councils determined how many taverns and shops would be licensed</a>, how much licences would cost and who would be hired to enforce these rules. </p>
<p>Since licences were good revenue sources, many councils simply issued more of them. With so much competition, liquor sellers had to drop prices to draw in customers. So booze was cheap and plentiful thanks to the abundance of licences. <a href="http://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/arts,-culture-society/beer-wars">Public drunkenness was, indeed, rampant</a>. </p>
<p>As well, taverns (usually hotels with bedroom and dining facilities) <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/in-mixed-company">were important meeting places</a>. Tavern keepers had tremendous political power. A politician who upset the tavern keepers risked career suicide.</p>
<p>In many small towns, there was also one store where people bought their groceries, hardware and booze. Since liquor was normally sold by filling containers the customer brought with them (like a boozy bulk food store), it was a short step from filling someone’s bottle to take home to filling a glass for a quick nip in the shop. It was <a href="http://eco.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.8_06073_184/1?r=0&s=1">illegal but easily hidden</a> (if someone even bothered trying to enforce the law).</p>
<h2>Laws enforced</h2>
<p>The licensing law that passed in 1876 changed much of this. With it, the provincial government appointed three-person boards in each riding to grant (or cancel) licences, slashed the number of licences (based upon population, not revenue) and hired locals to inspect taverns regularly. </p>
<p>The result was improved tavern facilities in the province, and a decrease in public drunkenness. With many taverns vying for fewer licences, it was in the licensee’s best interest to obey the law. Meanwhile, the inspectors’ success in enforcing the law was evaluated annually and rewarded financially.</p>
<p>Stores remained a problem. Many still <a href="http://news.ourontario.ca/121031/page/6?q=%28liquor%20AND%20grocery%29&docid=OOI.121031">included both liquor and grocery sales</a>, and the new law did not limit their numbers, leaving this to municipalities. By the 1880s, a growing anti-alcohol movement was railing against joint grocery and liquor sales, contending that this system of grocery store licensing caused drunkenness in women and children. </p>
<p>In 1884, <a href="http://news.ourontario.ca/3211858/page/3">a referendum in Toronto</a> succeeded in forcing the city council to <a href="http://news.ourontario.ca/3330069/page/5?n=">separate groceries from liquor sales</a>. Other <a href="http://news.haltonhills.halinet.on.ca/84598/page/2?q=grocers&docid=OOI.84598">communities</a> considered similar bylaws. That same year, the provincial government modified the law so that new shop licences would go only to stores that <a href="http://news.ourontario.ca/2801114/page/2?q=(groceries)&docid=OOI.2801114">did not sell groceries</a>. </p>
<h2>Saloons outlawed in 1897</h2>
<p>In subsequent decades, rules were tightened, licences continued to be reduced and fees were increased. The few licences for stand-alone saloons (without hotel facilities) were <a href="http://news.ourontario.ca/2407217/page/2?q=license+law&docid=OOI.2407217">eliminated in 1897</a>. Many <a href="https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2012/02/a_brief_history_of_booze_in_the_junction/">communities</a> passed <a href="https://archive.org/details/cihm_10774">local liquor prohibition</a>. A provincewide <a href="http://news.ourontario.ca/3295297/page/2?q=(new%20AND%20license%20AND%20commission)">board of licence commissioners was created in 1915.</a> </p>
<p>The provincewide Prohibition that began in 1916 and outlasted the First World War was an expansion of this system. When Prohibition ended, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) — based on the pre-Prohibition board of license commissioners — removed the profit motive from booze sales, emphasizing control over revenue. Beer was handled through a <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/a-timeline-of-brewers-retail-the-beer-store">brewers’ co-operative</a> and wineries continued to run their own stores (one shop per winery license). These places were regularly visited by government inspectors. </p>
<p>Over the next 90 years, the impetus for control persisted, but the nature of the interaction with government became looser. Hotel beverage rooms, a mainstay for Ontario drinking for well over half a century, were joined by <a href="https://www.blogto.com/city/2013/04/a_brief_history_of_torontos_first_cocktail_lounge/">cocktail lounges</a> and beer in restaurants in 1946. </p>
<p>LCBO stores became welcoming retail environments, and the surveillance is now less overt. Customers today may not even notice the two-way mirrors behind which sit watchful employees. Take a closer look next time you’re in an LCBO —they’re there.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232151/original/file-20180815-2912-xn7sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232151/original/file-20180815-2912-xn7sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232151/original/file-20180815-2912-xn7sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232151/original/file-20180815-2912-xn7sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232151/original/file-20180815-2912-xn7sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232151/original/file-20180815-2912-xn7sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232151/original/file-20180815-2912-xn7sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The LCBO emphasized control over revenue when it was first established.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the Ford government contemplates changing the liquor system and liberalizing cannabis sales, it would do well to remember that there was a time when unfettered access to intoxicants and a distribution system based upon free-market principles caused considerable distress in communities. </p>
<p>It also gave rise to a powerful movement that ultimately saw alcohol banned entirely. </p>
<p>And history can repeat itself.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101249/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan Malleck receives funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. He has previously been funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and Associated Medical Services.</span></em></p>Ontario Premier Doug Ford is loosening the province’s liquor laws. Before dismantling a system, it’s a good idea to know why it was established in the first place.Dan Malleck, Associate Professor, Medical History, Department of Health Sciences, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.