2/2(금)-Animal Cruelty and Family Violence: Making the Connection

2/2(금)-Animal Cruelty and Family Violence: Making the Connection Pets are part of the family in the majority of American households, where nearly three-quarters of families with school-age children have at least one companion animal. These animals are often treated like members of the family, but if the family is experiencing violence they can become targets as well.  Pets are often an important source of comfort and stability to the victims of abuse, particularly children. But abusive family members may threaten, injure, or kill pets, often as a way of threatening or controlling others in the family.  A 1997 survey of 50 of the largest shelters for battered women in the United States found that 85% of women and 63% of children entering shelters discussed incidents of pet abuse in the family.  Children who have witnessed domestic violence or who have been the victims of physical or sexual abuse may also become animal abusers themselves, imitating the violence they have seen or experienced. A study conducted in 1995 noted that 32% of the pet-owning victims of domestic abuse reported that one or more of their children had hurt or killed a pet.  Similarly, a 1983 study noted that children were reported to be abusive to animals in more than a third of a sample of pet-owning families referred to New Jersey's Division of Youth and Family Services for suspected child abuse.  It is essential for those who respond to family violence to be alert to this connection. Professionals in domestic violence intervention, law enforcement, child protection, human and veterinary medicine, education, and animal care and control should get to know their counterparts in other professions and work together to establish strategies for a coordinated response to these needs.  In fact, professionals who help families in crisis are increasingly recognizing the role that animals play in the dynamics of family violence. Many law enforcement agencies are training officers who respond to domestic violence calls to be alert for signs that a situation is life-threatening. These include situations where the batterer has threatened suicide, is displaying a firearm, or has hurt or killed a family pet.  In addition, local domestic violence shelters and animal protection organizations have begun partnering to develop "safe havens" for the pets of domestic violence victims because many victims delay leaving the abusive batterer out of fear for their pets' safety.  All too often, batterers punish victims for leaving by abusing or killing the pets. Yet, with the help of over 100 safe haven programs currently operating around the United States, many domestic violence victims no longer have to choose between their safety and their pets.   2004 Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week   With disturbing headlines about domestic violence so often in the news, it's not difficult to understand the damaging situations victims of family violence frequently face.  What people may not realize, however, is that pets in these homes are often hurt, too. Animals in these situations may be silent victims, who may be threatened, injured or killed by a violent family member to control or intimidate other members of the household. And just like other family members, animals need a place to be safe.  To bring more attention to the connection between animal cruelty and domestic violence, The HSUS chose the theme "Animal Cruelty IS Family Violence" for the 2004 Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week, April 18?24, 2004...  During the week, The HSUS highlighted the importance of Safe Haven for Animals programs, which involve collaborative relationships between domestic violence shelters, animal shelters, and care and control agencies to provide temporary housing for victims' pets.  The week also saw the debut of a poster emphasizing the importance of providing a safe place for companion animals who live in homes where family violence is present  Among other awareness efforts, The HSUS also released its 2003 Report of Animal Cruelty Cases and the results of a recent survey of several of the largest domestic violence shelters around the country... Questions 1. Do you agree with the opinion that pets are par of the family? 2. Do you like pets? (Why or why not?) and which one do you like? 3. Do you have any good or/and bad memories about pets? 4. Do you think there are any (close) relations between animal cruelty and domestic violence? 5. In korea, one of the wide spreaded phenomenon is that there are many families that have every kinds of pets. How do you think about this phenomena?