We Educate Wednesday [6/24/2020]
Today, I attended a webinar that hosted several professionals in various fields, including a forensic veterinarian, an assistant district attorney, a state trooper, a humane society police officer, a pediatrician, and children and youth staff. The topic was the connection between animal abuse and other forms of abuse (child abuse, domestic abuse).
According to the National Link Coalition, and various other sources, there is an overlap in many ways between child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse. An overlap meaning that when you find one type of abuse, you may find other types of abuse also occurring. Another way to see the overlap is that those who perpetrate one form of abuse may perpetrate other forms. This becomes a helpful area of knowledge for child protective services, medical professionals, law enforcement, the courts, mental health professionals, victim services, veterinary professionals, animal protection officials, and other social services.
As stated, the National Link Coalition is a great source of knowledge for this topic. As listed on their website, "60% of families under investigation for child abuse, and 88% for physical child abuse, reported animal cruelty. 2/3 of these cruelty incidents were perpetrated by the adult male; 1/3 by the children."(DeViney, Dickert & Lockwood, 1983)
In the webinar today, they presented that people who witnessed animal abuse were 8.14 times more likely to perpetrate a crime against humans than others (The Psychology of the Human-Animal Bond- A Resource for Clinicians and Researchers, 2009). Case studies were presented by a few of the panelists to illustrate the connection and overlap between the various forms of abuse. One of the cases showing that there were deceased pets, neglected and abused pets, where there was also children who were hungry, abused, and neglected. In addition to the connections, the laws and reactions to those committing these crimes was highlighted. Increased penalties for the crimes, restrictions for animal ownership afterward, and involvement of multi-disciplinary teams.
With the overlap between these forms of abuse, it is clear that agencies must work together to address the issues. I've attended trainings in the past that also included older adult protective services who indicated that they often saw animal abuse or neglect when visiting consumers. These teams should include those professionals listed above and more, tailoring to meet their goals. Widespread education on the topic along with an abundance and centralization of resources available is necessary. Other possible recommendations include making animal protection officers mandatory reporters for child abuse, making animal abuse a mandatory reporting process, and making elder abuse mandatory to report for more professionals.
How can you help?
You have already taken step one. Educating yourself and making yourself aware. Next comes further education, training, and identifying how you can work with other agencies. Consider working to establish a multidisciplinary team or network. Share this information in your communities, both in person and via social media.
The webinar was presented and made possible through Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Nova Bucks, Mission Kids, PCAR, Prevent Child Abuse Pennsylvania, The Human Society of the United States, Pennsylvania Chapter of Children's Advocacy Centers, National Animal Care & Control Association, Center for Children's Justice.
Additional appearance by abc27 News 's Valerie Pritchett for being the moderator for the panel! She was asked because of her ongoing passion for protecting and supporting both animals and children.
(Sources: National Link Coalition website, Webinar "The Link: A Collaborative Presentation and Panel Discussion. The Dangerous Link Between Child and Animal Maltreatment")
(Photo credits: Photos taken of webinar mentioned above, June 24, 2020).