It's not just the alcohol: gender, alcohol use, and intimate partner violence in Mae La refugee camp, Thailand, 2009.

Alcohol use is common in many conflict-displaced populations; population perspectives of alcohol use have not been well studied. Interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 97 people (September-December 2009) in Mae La, a long-standing refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border, and analyzed thematically. Intimate partner violence (IPV) emerged as a prominent theme, with four subthemes: alcohol use is subject to strongly gendered social controls; alcohol use is changing under the pressures of displacement; IPV is an emergent alcohol-related harm; the relationship between IPV and alcohol is complex. The study's limitations are noted, and future practice and research directions are discussed.