Home-Brewed Alcohol, Gender and Violence in the West Papuan Highlands

The production and consumption of home-brew in the highlands is adding a dangerous ingredient to already volatile ethnic, gendered, and political conditions. While scholars have typically viewed alcohol consumption in the Pacific in the context of social status, increased cashflow, and gendered desires, the situation in West Papua alerts us to other issues: binge-drinking seems more related to poverty than to increased wealth; reflects exclusion from, rather than inclusion in, emerging economies; and is linked to indigenous ‘stress’, but rarely prestige.

More research needs to examine how alcohol affects gendered violence in relation to shifting ethno-cultural environments and emerging marital practices. Equally, how alcohol contributes to security-sector clashes is a critical question for policy actors interested in mitigating conflict. Responding collaboratively to home-brew presents an opportunity to address gendered violence not just in relation to culture, which is often the sole unit of analysis, but in relation to broader policy domains such as civil society strengthening, political reforms, and indigenous economic empowerment.