Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Domestic Violence and Companion Animal Welfare: The Issues, Risks and Implications for Practice

  • Chapter
Animals in Social Work

Part of the book series: The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series ((PMAES))

  • 568 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter will explore the link between domestic violence and companion animals by first focusing on the debates around the defiitions of violence, and the evolution of the coercive control understanding of domestic violence as a social problem. This critical understanding allows us to locate broader tactics of power and control along the domestic violence continuum, and thus provide a conceptual understanding of the importance of companion animal abuse for some perpetrators.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Adams, C. (1994). Bringing peace home: A feminist philosophical perspective on the abuse of women, children and pet animals. Hypatia, 9(2), 63–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albert, A., & Bulcroft, K. (1988). Pets, families and the life course. Journal of Marriage and Family, 50(2), 543–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ascione, F. (1997). Battered women’s reports of their partners’ and their children’s cruelty to animals, journal of Emotional Abuse, 1(1), 119–

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ascione, R (Ed.) (2008). The International Handbook of Animal Abuse and Cruelty: Theory, Research and Application. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ascione, R, Weber, C, & Wood, D. (1997). The abuse of animals and domestic violence: A national survey of shelters for women who are battered. Society and Animals, 5(3), 205–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1996). Women’s safety Australia 1996. Catalogue no.4128.0. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats. Accessed October 2013.

  • Australian Companion Animal Council. (2007). Contribution of thePetcare Industry to the Australian Economy (6th ed.). St Leonards: Australian Companion Animal Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawford, D., & Bohac Clarke, V. (2012). Inside the cruelty connection: The role of animal decision-making by domestic violence victims in rural Alberta, Canada. Research Report to the Alberta SPCA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dekeseredy W., & Schwartz, M. (1998, February). Measuring the extent of women abuse in intimate heterosexual relationships: A critique of the Conflict Tactics Scales. National Resource Centre on Domestic Violence, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, America. Retrieved from http://new.vawnet.org/print-document. php?doc_id=388&find_type=web_desc_AR.

  • Dobash, R., & Dobash, R. (1979). Violence Against Wives: A Case Against the Patriarchy. New York: Free Press. Dobash, R., Dobash, R., Wilson, M., & Daly, M. (1992). The myth of sexual symmetry in marital violence. Social Problems, 39(1), 71–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faver, C, & Strand, E. (2003). To leave or stay?: A battered women’s concern for vulnerable pets. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18(12), 1367–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flynn, C. (2000). Women’s best friend: Pet abuse and the role of companion animals in the lives of battered women. Violence Against Women, 6(2), 162–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fook, J., & Klein, R. (Eds.) (2001). A Girl’s Best Friend: The Meaning of Dogs in Women’s Lives. North Melbourne: Spinifex Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelles, R. (1974). The Violent Home: A Study of Physical Aggression Between Husbands and Wives. Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelles, R. (1987). Family Violence (2nd ed.). Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelles, R. (1993). Family violence. In R. Hampton, T. Gullota, G. Adams, E. Potter, & R. Weissberg (Eds.), Family Violence Prevention and Treatment (pp. 1–24). Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelles, R. (1997). Intimate Violence in Families (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelles, R., & Straus, M. (1979). Determinants of violence in the family: Toward a theoretical integration. In W. Bun, R. Hill, F. Nye, & I. Reiss (Eds.), Contemporary Theories About the Family’.Volume 1 (pp. 549–81). New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gullone, E. (2011). Conceptualising animal abuse with an anti-social behaviour framework. Animals, 1(1), 144–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamby S. (2009). Battered women’s protective strategies. VAWNet Allied Research Forum. Retrieved from www.vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet/AR_BWProStrat. pdf.

  • Kelly J., & Johnson, M. (2008). Differentiation among types of intimate partner violence: Research update and implications for interventions. Family Court Review, 46(3), 476–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimmel, M. (2002). ‘Gender Symmetry’ in domestic violence: A substantive and methodological review. Violence Against Women, 8(11), 1332–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laing, L., Humphreys, C., & Cavanagh, K. (2013). Social Work and Domestic Violence: Developing Critical and Reflective Practice. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loring, M., & Bolden-Hines, T. (2004). Pet abuse by batterers as a means of coercing battered women into committing illegal behaviour. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 4(1), 27–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mouzos, J., & Makkai, T. (2004). Women’s experiences of male violence: Findings from the Australian component of the International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS). Research and Public Policy Series, 56. Canbena: Australian Institute of Criminology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Onyskiw, J. (2007). The link between family violence and cruelty to family pets. In M. Loring, R. Geffner, & J. Marsh (Eds.), Animal Abuse and Family Violence: Linkages, Research and Implications for Professional Practice (pp. 7–30). New York: Ha worth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pleck, E. (1987). Domestic Tyranny: The Making of Social Policy Against Family Violence from Colonial Times to the Present. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renzetti, C. (1992). Violent Betrayal: Partner Abuse in Lesbian Relationships. California: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roguski, M. (2012). Pets as Pawns: The Co-Existence of Animal Cruelty and Family Violence. Prepared for Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and The National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges. Retrieved from https://womensrefuge.org.nz/users/Image/Downloads/PDFs/ Pets%20as%20Pawns.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schechter, S. (1982). Women and Male Violence: The Visions and Struggles of the Battered Women’s Movement. Boston: South End Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shepard, M., & Pence, E. (1999). Coordinating Community Responses to Domestic Violence: Lessons from Duluth and Beyond. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, O, & Lehman, P. (2007). Exploring the link between pet abuse and controlling behaviours in violent relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22(9), 1211–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, E. (2007). Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, E. (2009). Rethinking coercive control. Violence against Women, 15(12), 1509–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stout, K., ScMcPhail, B. (1998). Confronting Sexism and Violence Against Women: A Challenge for Social Work. New York: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. (1979). Measuring intraf amily conflict and violence: the conflict tactics (CT) scales. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41(1), 75–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. (1990). Measuring intraf amily conflict and violence: the Conflict (CT) Scales. In M. Straus & R. Gelles (Eds.), Physical Violence in American Families (pp. 29–47). New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M., Hamby, S., Boney-McCoy S., & Sugarman, D. (1995). The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2 — form A). Durham: Family Research Laboratory.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiplady, C, Walsh, D., & Phillips, C. (2012). Intimate partner violence and companion animal welfare. Australian Veterinarian journal, 90(1-2), 48–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiplady, C, Walsh, D., & Phillips, C. (2013). Experiences of domestic violence, pet ownership and veterinary involvement as reported by a sample of women from Queensland Australia. (Manuscript submitted for publication).

    Google Scholar 

  • Volant, A., Johnson, J., Gullone, E., & Coleman, G. (2008). The relationship between domestic violence and animal abuse: An Australian study, journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(9), 1277–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, L. (1979). The Battered Woman. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, D. (199 7). A Risk Assessment for Practitioners when Working with Disclosures of Domestic Violence. (Unpublished masters thesis). La Trobe University, Australia. Walsh, D. (1999). A risk assessment for practitioners when working with disclosures of domestic violence. Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 2(2), 130–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, D. (2004). Silent Suffering: The Extent, Level and Nature of Violence Against Women During Pregnancy. A Study of 400 Australian Women. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Melbourne, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, D., Weeks, W., Moo, A., Howe, K., & D’Arcy M. (2001). Women Against Violence: An Australian Feminist journal, 10, July, 32 40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yllo, K. (1993). Through a feminist lens: Gender, power and violence. In R. Gelles & D. Loeske (Eds.), Current Controversies on Family Violence (pp. 47–62). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Deborah Walsh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Far North Queensland, Australia

    Thomas Ryan PhD (Associate Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics) (Associate Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics)

Copyright information

© 2014 Deborah Walsh

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Walsh, D. (2014). Domestic Violence and Companion Animal Welfare: The Issues, Risks and Implications for Practice. In: Ryan, T. (eds) Animals in Social Work. The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137372291_14

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation