Examining the Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence and Concern for Animal Care and Safekeeping

Abstract

The current study examined the knowledge and experience of animal welfare and human service providers in urban and rural communities of Saskatchewan, Canada. Nine exploratory qualitative interviews were conducted to gather a more in-depth understanding of whether the concern for animal care and safekeeping impacts the decision to leave situations of intimate partner violence. The interviews were semistructured and guided by four questions, which were designed, reviewed, and revised based on feedback from a community-based research team. Thematic analysis highlighted important findings, allowing for the generation of suggestions for improvement of current supports and services offered. The current study findings suggest that concern for animal care and safekeeping creates significant barriers regarding the decision to leave situations of intimate partner violence and abuse, warranting further research to inform support services and resources within a Canadian context.

Intimate Partner Violence and COVID-19 in Rural, Remote, and Northern Canada: Relationship, Vulnerability and Risk

“…Given transportation barriers, it can be difficult to take pets when escaping and finding safekeeping or fostering options for pets can prove challenging in small communities. Further, for women who work on farms and own livestock, leaving an abusive relationship means giving up their livelihood, and leaving animals behind-potentially risking the animals' well being (Wuerch et al 2018;Wuerch et al 2017). For these reasons, women who own animals may delay leaving or stay in a home where IPV is taking place.…”

Keeping Pets Safe in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence

“…This is in line with the findings in the study by Wuerch and colleagues (2017), where all staff members reported being aware of women who refused to go to a shelter because their pet was not allowed to accompany them. A limitation of most of the research on the co-occurrence of animal abuse and IPV (with Wuerch et al, 2017, as a recent exception) is the reliance on samples of women who are already in shelters; it is therefore unknown how many women may never leave an abusive partner due to concern for their pet. Although we do not yet have an estimate of the proportion of people in the community who remain in abusive relationships due to concern for their pets, the fact that such large proportions of staff members in these studies are aware of women who need support for both themselves and their companion animals provides further evidence of the need to establish pet safekeeping programs.…”

“…Ad hoc solutions (e.g., pooling resources to access a local kennel, contacting a local animal care agency, or a staff member fostering the animal) were the norm and represented creative solutions to ensure the woman's and the animal's safety. More recently, Wuerch, Giesbrecht, Price, Knutson, and Wach (2017) explored challenges surrounding the provision of services to women with pets, including obstacles to pet safekeeping and agency needs to provide services. In interviews with nine domestic violence service providers and animal welfare agency staff in Saskatchewan, Canada, all respondents noted that they knew of women who had refused to go to a shelter because they could not bring their pets.…”

“…In the myriad behaviors listed on their power and control wheel, Pence and Paymar (1993) include pet abuse as a component of psychological abuse. That there is a connection between animal abuse and IPV is likely not news to many practitioners who work with abused women, as survivors often share stories of their experiences with shelter staff (Ascione et al, 2007;Krienert, Walsh, Matthews, & McConkey, 2012;Wuerch, Giesbrecht, Price, Knutson, & Wach, 2017). However, there is little information available, particularly in the Canadian context, about how shelter staff are addressing the multifaceted issues posed by the frequent co-occurrence of these forms of abuse.…”

People of Diverse Genders and/or Sexualities Caring For and Protecting Animal Companions in the Context of Domestic Violence

“…Indeed, concern for the wellbeing of any animals left behind is acknowledged by some service providers as a significant barrier to leaving violent situations (e.g., Wuerch, Giesbrecht, Price, Knutson & Wach, 2017), with increasing focus on the need to provide refuge for all victims of DVA (e.g., Collins et al 2017). In part, this acknowledgment comes from a recognition of the strong bonds between (some) humans and their animal companions.…”