Pets Of Family Violence Victims To Be Offered Protection In Victoria

Boronia · July 5, 2015

http://www.theguardi...ection-victoria

Pets of family violence victims to be offered protection in Victoria

$100,000 earmarked for pet protection programs after studies show victims may delay leaving an abusive relationship out of fear of what will happen to their pets

A UK study found perpetrators of violence usually harm those physically weaker than themselves and as a result 'abuse of animals occurs frequently in conjunction with human abuse'. Photograph: PR Melissa Davey

The pets of women and children fleeing family violence will be offered protection as part of a program funded by the Victorian government.

Numerous reviews have shown that perpetrators of family violence use threats and harm to pets as a way of maintaining control of their victims, and that victims may delay leaving an abusive relationship out of fear of what will happen to their pets.

Over the next four years, $100,000 will be given to the family violence response service, Safe Steps, to build relationships with animal welfare agencies such as the RCPCA and family violence services, the state government announced on Sunday.

Victoria's minister for families and children, Jenny Mikakos, said the funding would give people in violent situations greater confidence to seek safety.

"This small program will make a huge difference in helping victims leave violent situations and get support," she said.

Kim Gentle is a survivor of family violence who now lives in Port Hedland. Her perpetrator is now in jail, having physically, financially and emotionally abused Gentle. He also killed her dog.

"He threw her off a cliff," Gentle told Guardian Australia. "He thought I paid more attention to my dog than to him, and that I had more love for her than I did for him. He was jealous. I rescued that dog from the RSPCA and she came everywhere with me. These perpetrators will take anything precious to you."

Gentle believes pet protection programs for family violence victims should be rolled out across the country.

Advertisement"Pets have incredible healing powers, especially for children, and that is well documented," she said.

"I can only applaud Victoria for this program and I hope it follows through everywhere."

In its submission to Victoria's royal commission into family violence, the RSPCA said while some animal shelters provided ad hoc welfare boarding for the pets of people fleeing family violence, they were poorly funded.

"Funding for welfare boarding is unreliable and often limited," the submission said.

"Welfare boarding is only provided by animal shelters when they have the capacity to do so. Local governments should have a responsibility to provide welfare boarding for animals and this should not be a responsibility of charities. A government supported system is required."

The CEO of RSPCA Victoria, Dr Liz Walker, said the government's funding announcement on Sunday was "encouraging".

"We look forward to being part of the development of a broader strategy to address the temporary sheltering and care of animals across the state," she said.

A 2012 report provided to the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges in New Zealand found cruelty to pets was most commonly reported as a form of punishment.

"Cruelty involved injury or death of an animal in retribution for a family member's unsatisfactory behaviour," the report found. "As such, animal cruelty was orchestrated to directly hurt the woman and child(ren). The outcome of the abuse was a level of intimidation that secured the families' compliance and obedience for fear that a cherished animal would be beaten or killed."

Another study, from the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics in the UK, found perpetrators of violence usually harmed those physically weaker than themselves and as a result "abuse of animals occurs frequently in conjunction with human abuse".

Animal abuse was a red flag for other forms of violence, it said. "Unfortunately, health agencies do not give the human–animal violence link sufficient weight in public health policy," the study found.

For contacts details of pet crisis services, contact Safe Steps on 1800 015 188
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) 1800respect.org.au is the national 24/7 counselling helpline for family violence.
The Men's Referral Service provides anonymous and confidential telephone counselling, information and referrals to men to help them take action to stop using violent and controlling behaviour 1300 766 491.

Little Gifts · July 6, 2015

I know a program is already running from the RSPCA at Wacol as one of my bestie's fosters dogs for people escaping DV through there. She has had some dogs as long as 6 months. As I recently learned, not all RSPCA's are the same so perhaps this is another example of a preventative program running in one area that is not available elsewhere? Now with this funding the Vic dogs have a chance too.

Actually I just had a thought. If we are able to go back to fostering perhaps I'll talk to my old DV contacts and offer myself as an ancillary service? There would be some logistics that need to be worked out but it would be very rewarding.

Salukifan · July 6, 2015

I'm not sure a kennel in a dog shelter is what I'd call "protection", especially for a longer duration stay.

Still, its better than nothing I suppose.

Simply Grand · July 6, 2015

True HW, but like you say better than nothing. It's generally a last resort for people who have no other option, no one to take their pets and no money to pay for boarding. I'd much prefer my dogs be safe from harm, secured and fed than left with someone who might hurt them.

I hope RSPCA Vic does use the funding for what it's intended and really makes an effort to help people, it's such an important service.

Dame Aussie · July 6, 2015

This is good.

Sure it's not ideal but neither is the situation in general.

I don't really see any other options than in a pound/shelter if the dog needs to be boarded somewhere? I guess they could look at foster carers but that takes time matching up etc and sometimes dogs need somewhere to go urgently.

Edited July 6, 2015 by Dame Aussie

Jumabaar · July 6, 2015

Lydia Tong is an amazing Aussie Veterinarian who will hopefully make a huge difference in this field world wide.

Being able to identify pet abuse could lead to help for those who truly need it earlier than they are currently receiving it.

http://www.scienceinpublic.com.au/media-releases/dogs

Can vets help fight domestic violence by identifying pet abuse?

17 AUGUST, 2014

in FRESH SCIENCE, MEDIA RELEASES

Media call: 11am, 17 August 2014 with researchers and dogs at The University of Sydney Veterinary Teaching Hospital, NSW Lydia Tong Credit OK-White Lane

Pet abuse and domestic violence are closely linked. Animals can’t talk but University of Sydney vet Dr Lydia Tong has shown vets how to tell the difference between bone fractures caused by accidents and those caused by abuse. Her fracture identification methods are giving vets the added confidence to identify cases of violence against pets and could serve as a warning of domestic violence.

Now, in a new study with Domestic Violence NSW, Lydia is looking deeper into the connections between animal abuse and domestic violence to assess the need for better services to protect both human and animal victims.

“Around 70% of women escaping violent homes also report pet abuse,” says Lydia. “So vets are often the first to see evidence of abuse in a family, when they treat injured pets.”

“Different forces on bones can tell a story—the skeleton of an animal keeps a distinct record that indicates the force applied to bones from past injuries, breaks or fractures. But it can often be difficult for vets to say with confidence whether a fracture has resulted from abuse or accident.”

To give vets this confidence, in a 2014 study, Lydia collected cases of abused dogs who were punched, hit with a blunt weapon or kicked, and examined the fractures from these injuries. She then compared these fractures to those caused by genuine accidents. Her results, published in The Veterinary Journal, identified five key features of fractures that vets could look for to distinguish accidents from abuse.

Now, having given vets this reference to diagnose abuse, Lydia and her colleagues at The University of Sydney are gathering more information on the connections between domestic violence and animal abuse.

“We already know that many women will delay seeking shelter if their pets are threatened or can’t be housed along with them,” explains Lydia.

“US studies also tell us that domestic violence perpetrators who also abuse pets are more dangerous—they have increased rates of physical and sexual violence and stalking, and are more likely to kill their partner.

“We need to know more about the relationship between animal and human abuse in Australia so that we can recognise abuse earlier, save lives, and provide appropriate services for victims and their pets.”

Lydia and her colleagues at the University of Sydney are working with Domestic Violence NSW to survey victims of domestic violence who are also pet owners.

“Perpetrators of violence will often threaten to abuse or harm family pets as a way to exert control” says Moo Baulch, CEO of Domestic Violence NSW.

“This research is essential because we need to have a much clearer picture of the connections between domestic and family violence and the abuse of animals.

“Building a solid evidence base in this area will assist policymakers, domestic and family violence services and people working with animals to better respond to the needs of women and children with pets who are experiencing violence and are afraid to leave.”

Lydia and her team are keen to hear from other domestic violence support agencies, services or refuges that would be willing to be involved with this study.

Lydia was a 2014 national finalist of FameLab Australia. FameLab is a global science communication competition for early-career scientists.

Media call: Lydia Tong and Moo Baulch will be available for interview at The University of Sydney Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Evelyn Williams Building B10, The University of Sydney NSW, from 11am-12noon, Sunday 17 August 2014. See online map

Contacts:

Dr Lydia Tong, The University of Sydney, +61 425 166 516, [email protected]

Verity Leatherdale, The University of Sydney Media, +61 403 067 342, [email protected]

Niall Byrne, Science in Public, +61 417 131 977, [email protected]

Errol Hunt, Science in Public, +61 423 139 210, [email protected]

Background

In Australia, an estimated 300,000 pets are exposed to abuse in their own homes every year. In 2012, the RSPCA investigated over 51,000 cruelty complaints, but only 298 convictions resulted. In part, this is because the scientific tools to confidently diagnose animal abuse are underdeveloped.

Lydia’s work on identifying animal abuse fractures is aimed at addressing this gap by examining canine abuse injuries in order to determine what differentiates them from accidents.

Her work has been published in: L.J. Tong, Fracture characteristics to distinguish between accidental injury and non-accidental injury in dogs, The Veterinary Journal, 199 (2014) 392–398.

Abstract

Non-accidental injury (NAI) refers to trauma arising from deliberate physical abuse and is increasingly recognised as an important differential diagnosis in veterinary medicine. Given the sensitivity and importance of identifying NAI, clinicians, pathologists, and veterinary forensic experts need clear scientific evidence to support their diagnosis. The aim of this study was to investigate fractures occurring in accidental and NAI in dogs by comparing the radiographic features of fractures in 19 dogs with abuse fractures and 135 dogs with accidental fractures.

Radiographic findings indicated that the following five features should raise the index of suspicion of and support a diagnosis of NAI: (1) the presence of multiple fractures; (2) fractures occurring on more than one region of the body (forelimb, hind limb, or axial); (3) transverse fractures; (4) fractures presenting at a later stage of healing (delayed presentation); and (5) multiple fractures at different stages of healing. Staffordshire bull terriers were over-represented in the NAI group. Many findings in this study correlate with patterns seen in human NAI fractures. However some aspects show significant differences, serving as a reminder that veterinary forensics cannot rely on data from existing human studies. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.08.019

Contact [email protected] for a copy of the paper.

Acknowledgements

Lydia is collaborating with Associate Professor Peter Thomson, Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, to deliver the upcoming survey.

Welfare services

For advice or help regarding temporary housing for pets for owners escaping domestic or family violence, contact the RSPCA’s Safe Beds for Pets program on [email protected] or phone (02) 9782 4408.

For help or advice regarding any domestic violence matter, contact Domestic Violence NSW on 1800 65 64 63 or go to domesticviolence.nsw.gov.au

FameLablogo - in association

In 2014, the British Council and Fresh Science have joined forces to bring FameLab to Australia.

FameLab Australia will offer specialist science media training and, ultimately, the chance for early-career researchers to pitch their research at the FameLab International Grand Final in the UK at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival from 3 to 5 June 2014.

FameLab is an international communication competition for scientists, including engineers and mathematicians. Designed to inspire and motivate young researchers to actively engage with the public and with potential stakeholders, FameLab is all about finding the best new voices of science and engineering across the world.

Founded in 2005 by The Times Cheltenham Science Festival, FameLab, working in partnership with the British Council, has already seen more than 5,000 young scientists and engineers participate in over 23 different countries — from Hong Kong to South Africa, USA to Egypt.

Now, FameLab comes to Australia in a landmark collaboration with the British Council and Fresh Science — Australia’s very own science communication competition.

For more information about FameLab Australia, head to www.famelab.org.au

Jumabaar · July 6, 2015