Citation

Gray A, Barrett BJ, Fitzgerald A, Peirone A. J. Fam. Violence 2019; 34(4): 287-298.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10896-018-0023-z

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In response to the growing body of empirical research demonstrating a substantial co-occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and animal abuse, domestic violence shelters are increasingly offering on- or off-site services to care for the pets of abused women accessing shelter services. This paper analyzes all public websites of first-stage shelters in Canada (n = 337) to offer the first examination of what these shelters are communicating about this co-occurrence of abuse and an appraisal of what services are available to survivors with pets. The findings indicate that less than half of the websites mention pets, and only 1% of shelters report offering on-site pet programs. There are significant relationships between websites addressing the role of pets in both safety planning and help-seeking among abused women and the provision of pet shelter services. The paper concludes with suggestions for pet-related information on domestic violence shelter websites in Canada and elsewhere.

Language: en

Keywords

Animal abuse; Co-occurring violence; Domestic violence shelters; Intimate partner violence; Pets