Domestic Violence Affects Animals
- seattleanimalwatch
- Feb 14, 2023
- 3 min read
Animal cruelty and intimate partner violence (IPV) often go hand in hand. A perpetrator may use beloved animals to control and frighten their victim. Victims who flee their homes with their animals often have new challenges to face, from finding a place they can safely stay with their animals to caring for their animals with a suddenly diminished income. Legal and animal welfare professionals acknowledge that we may not know the full extent of the animal cruelty connection as animal cruelty charges are often dropped in favor of domestic violence charges. SAW believes that addressing animal cruelty goes hand in hand with addressing domestic violence. These are both crimes hidden behind closed doors that involve the abuse of power and trust.
IPV is characterized by aggressive or violent behavior that occurs within the home. It is usually committed by one partner against another. Violent behaviors include physical assault, sexual assault, stalking and psychological aggression. About ten million Americans experience violence at the hands of a partner every year. Animal abuse, also called animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering on non-human animals. It includes the commission of acts designed to hurt as well as the failure to properly care for an animal. Neglect or willful withholding of food, water, shelter, light, space or other necessities that harm the animal qualify as cruelty. In homes where there is IPV, over 70% of victims report harm to family pets and farm animals. In a family with a pet, an aggressor may threaten to harm the animal in order to control a family member. Cruelty to other people and animals can be learned by children, creating a cycle of violence. One cost to society is that injured animals require medical care and recovery regimens, foster care, adoption or permanent rescue placement away from people. Veterinary expertise, experienced rehabilitators, and land to care for recovering animals are all significant and expensive consequences. Early detection of IPV and animal abuse would save lives - human and non-human. Studies have shown that if a doctor asks a female patient whether there is violence in the home, 92% of women will report it if it is present. Studies also show that IPV can begin when teenagers start dating and may continue throughout the life of the victim and/or the perpetrator. (See the CDC document for more information). Victims of IPV can also include males and partners in same-sex relationships. Helping break the cycle of violence early is critical to the mental and physical health of the victims. Early detection of animal abuse is much harder. Signs that an animal is suffering can include an unexplained broken leg, missing fur, flinching, inappropriate urination, emaciation, and more. Animal shelters and veterinarians could be instrumental in helping end IPV if they report suspicions to police. In some states, veterinarians are required to report suspected cruelty to police, but Washington does not have this law. However there has been resistance to this due to race and social equity concerns. Possible approaches to increase our community responses to the IPV/animal abuse link are:
train veterinarians to ask about cruelty, including farm animal/large animal veterinary specialists
enact state legislation that requires veterinarians to report suspected animal cruelty, including to service animals
assign animal service officers or other trained people to advise and collaborate with domestic violence shelter services
educate animal shelter operations about when to notify police of a potential IPV home
ensure that IPV shelters have resources in place to accommodate pets that accompany fleeing families. These facilities must be as secure as the shelters.
join with educators to reinforce the link between violence in the home and animal cruelty (teen IPV), and to teach compassion towards animals to children
increase statutory penalties for animal abuse and neglect
