Alcohol use has previously been linked to an increase in femicide, but research on this in lower- and middle-income countries has been relatively scarce. A 2025 study using South African data from the Covid-19 lockdowns offers new insight.

During periods when alcohol sales were completely banned, the number of women killed – by both intimate partners and non-partners – fell by 63% compared to periods without restrictions. Researchers compared national data from 2017 with the first year of the pandemic (2020–21), during which varying lockdown restrictions, including bans on alcohol, were enforced.

The pattern of fewer reported femicide cases was most obvious in the early stages of the Covid restrictions, between April and May 2020.

From the report: “The findings support alcohol use as a significant risk factor for femicide and underline the need for alcohol harm reduction policies as part of gender-based violence prevention strategies.”