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Short Description:
Researchers interviewed 26 women who experienced intimate partner violence while living with companion animals. All of them indicated their companion animal had been verbally or physically assaulted by their partner and most indicated they were unwilling to discuss this with the animal's vet. Of households with multiple animals, all respondents indicated that a specific animal was targeted for the majority of the abuse; the animal was most often a dog. One-quarter of the respondents indicated that their animals died as a result of the abuse and in one-third of the cases, the women were told by the violent partner if she left her companion animal would be harmed or killed.
Abstract:
Article Abstract:
"In total, 26 Australian women reported one or more companion animals in the household being verbally and/or physically
abused by their male partner, usually with prolonged effects on
animal behaviour; 92% indicated that they had been unwilling to
discuss the animal abuse with a veterinarian. Many were unaware of
animal accommodation services for people fleeing violence and
those who did know about these were unwilling to use them, citing
their bond with the animals as the main reason. Animals targeted
for abuse were most likely to be dogs and owned by women rather
than men, children or both partners."
"Conclusion Animals can be severely affected by domestic violence situations and many people experiencing violence are unwilling to confide in veterinarians or seek help from animal shelters."
Spot Check Number:
1954
Researcher/Author:
C. M. Tiplady, D. B. Walsh & C. J. C. Phillips
Animal Type:
Dogs, Cats, Companion Animals
Record Type:
Academic Paper, Journal Article, Research Study
Research Method:
Telephone Survey
Geographic Region:
International
Population Descriptors:
Victims of intimate partner violence, women
Year Conducted:
2012
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I am going thru and have other times also this situation......
Resources for victims of intimate partner violence
Unfortunately, there is a lack of services to help people remove themselves and their companion animals from these situations of abuse. Luckily, some areas are forming nonprofits and some shelters are developing programs to house animals while their human companions get resettled.
Here is a list of resources that provides a listing of some of these safe havens in the United States.
This list was less recently updated, but also provides a listing with some locations in Canada and England as well as the US.
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