The Tangled Web (The Link)

The Faribault Daily News carried a cover story which stated "At least 34 domestic violence deaths in Minnesota last year."

This is difficult to grasp. Add to the 34 that lost their lives, the number of victims that survived. Add to that the number of children that are abused and survive,  the number that have witnessed abuse, and the number of animals abused or killed.   The true numbers are staggering. Many acts of  domestic violence against humans and animals go totally unreported. 

There is a definite link between human abuse, animal abuse, and violence. Individuals that abuse humans may start by abusing animals. In recent years, a strong connection has been found linking animal abuse and domestic violence. A number of women in shelters said that their concern for their pets' welfare actually delayed their leaving the home environment to seek shelter.

Abuse is a way to exert power and control over other living things. It's a method of intimidation and dominant behavior. We cannot ignore abuse—it does exist.      Not looking doesn't make it go away.

There are at least three ways that animal abuse and human violence can be linked.

1.  The Abusers

Why do Abusers Batter Animals?

• To demonstrate power and control over the family

• To isolate the victim and children

• To enforce submission

• To perpetuate an environment of fear

• To prevent the victim from leaving or coerce her to return

• To punish for leaving or showing independence

By inflicting violence on companion animals, abusers can powerfully demonstrate their power over a partner, elderly parent, or child. When an adult or child sees what an abusive person can do to a pet, they realize they are vulnerable to similar abuse, and in this way are taught submission.

Abusers may harm animals to punish their partners for leaving, or attempting to leave. Animal abuse may also be used as a punishment for disobedience or some other action of which the abuser did not approve. Many abused people have reported the mental anguish of having a loved animal abused is worse than the physical punishment they had received themselves.

In a different tactic, a perpetrator may use an animal as an excuse for violence against a human. For instance, if an animal misbehaves, the child or partner may be the recipient of the violence rather than the pet.

By threatening to abuse an animal, a person can often prevent an abused adult or child from revealing their abuse to others and getting help. Abusive spouses or children may threaten to kill or harm an elderly person's pet if they do not sign over assets or property to the abuser.

Jealousy over the amount of attention a companion animal receives may prompt an abuser to kill, abuse, or get rid of the pet.

2. The Children

Abused children may become animal abusers. "While children who abuse animals often come from abusive, dysfunctional families, that is not always the case. Multiple studies have shown that children who grow up in an environment of animal abuse are more likely to be involved in animal abuse and human violence as they grow up. Young children growing up in an environment of abuse may become desensitized.  They may also learn that one way to demonstrate you have power or control is to abuse a creature that is weaker than you. "One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and get away with it."—Anthropologist Margaret Mead

Another point. Many children who abuse animals will not become juvenile offenders and adult criminals (although many adult criminals did abuse animals). 

While the childhood animal abusers may not wind up with criminal records, there is an effect. Children who abuse animals as children are more likely to endorse interpersonal violence. They also exhibit a decreased ability, or an inability, to feel empathy for another being. Interestingly, it was father's physical punishment of son (not mother) most strongly associated with son committing animal abuse.

Children abuse animals as a release of aggression felt towards abusive adults. How children are raised shapes their values and behaviors. They learn from adult role models and the society in which they live. A home of violence, abuse or neglect produces children who may pass these behaviors on to the next generation, which passes them on to the next generation and so on. Animals, especially pets, get caught up in this cycle of family violence.

3.  Animals

Animal abuse may predict adult violence.  People who abused pets as children are far more likely to commit murder or other violent crimes as they become adults. In fact, one of the most reliable predictors of adult violence is committing animal abuse as a child.

There is growing recognition that animals living in violent households are often victims of abuse, and that people seeking refuge from such abusive situations are often unwilling to leave out of fear for their animal's safety. Due to health regulations, most shelters can not house pets, therefore battered men and women are faced with the decision to either seek their own safety and leave the animal at potential risk with the batterer, or attempt to protect the animal by staying and continuing to live in danger themselves.

The Link - How is Animal Abuse Related to Domestic Violence?

In recent years, a strong connection has been documented linking animal abuse and domestic violence. A study of battered women revealed that in four out of five cases, abusive partners had also been violent toward pets or livestock.  Women who do seek safety at shelters are nearly 11 times more likely to report that their partner has hurt or killed their animals than women who have not experienced domestic abuse.

Legal Protections for Animal Victims of Domestic Violence

Sadly, victims of domestic violence often remain in dangerous or dysfunctional relationships to protect their pets. A study of women seeking temporary "safe haven" shelter showed that 71 percent of those having companion animals reported that their partners had threatened, hurt, or killed their animals. It is likewise well-documented that many more abuse victims never even go to a shelter because they fear for the safety of the pets they must leave behind.

Animal cruelty is increasingly viewed as a serious issue. The effective prosecution of animal abuse has many benefits. It can provide an early and timely response to those who are, or who are risk of becoming, a threat to the safety of others. It can provide an added tool for the protection of those who are victims of family violence.

Animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people and four times more likely to commit property crimes than are individuals without a history of animal abuse.

If you break it down to its bare essentials:

"Abusing an animal is a way for a human to find power/joy/fulfillment through the torture of a victim they know cannot defend itself."

Now break down a human crime, say rape. "Rape is a way for a human to find power/joy/fulfillment through the torture of a victim they know cannot defend themselves."

Now try it with, say, domestic abuse such as child abuse or spousal abuse:

"Child abuse is a way for a human to find power/joy/fulfillment through the torture of a victim they know cannot defend themselves."

Do you see the pattern here?

The line separating an animal abuser from someone capable of committing human abuse is much finer than most people care to consider. People abuse animals for the same reasons they abuse people. Some of them will stop with animals, but enough has been proven to continue on to commit violent crimes to people that it's worth paying attention to.

Virtually every serious violent offender has a history of animal abuse in their past, and since there's no way to know which animal abuser is going to continue on to commit violent human crimes, they should ALL be taken that seriously. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Allen Brantley was quoted as saying "Animal cruelty... is not a harmless venting of emotion in a healthy individual; this is a warning sign..." It should be looked at as exactly that. Its a clear indicator that can and often DO lead to more violent human crimes.

Dr. Randall Lockwood, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, states "A kid who is abusive to a pet is quite often acting out violence directly experienced or witnessed in the home. One-third of children who are exposed to family violence will act out this violence, often against their own pets."

Others either abuse pets or threaten to abuse them as a way to control an individual.

"So much of animal cruelty... is really about power or control." Lockwood said.     Often, aggression starts with a real or perceived injustice. The person feels powerless and develops a warped sense of self-respect. Eventually they feel strong only by being able to dominate a person or animal.

"Those who abuse animals for no obvious reason have no empathy and only see the world as what it's going to do for them." Lockwood stated.

Animal Abuse and Human Abuse: Partners in Crime

Acts of cruelty to animals are not mere indications of a minor personality flaw in the abuser; they are symptomatic of a deep mental disturbance.  “Murderers ... very often start out by killing and torturing animals as kids,” says Robert K. Ressler, who developed profiles of serial killers for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Studies have shown that violent and aggressive criminals are more likely to have abused animals as children than criminals who are considered non-aggressive.  Unfortunately, many of these criminals’ childhood violence went unexamined—until it was directed at humans.

'The Link' Next Door: Cruelty to Animals and Family Violence - The Tangled Web

Because abusers target the powerless, crimes against animals, spouses, children, and the elderly often go hand in hand. Children who abuse animals may be repeating a lesson learned at home; like their parents, they are reacting to anger or frustration with violence. Their violence is directed at the only individual in the family who is more vulnerable than they are: an animal. 

Parents who neglect or abuse animals frequently subject their own children to similar hardships.

What can be done?

Government Agencies, Animal Welfare Organizations, Domestic Abuse Advocates may erect walls.   The walls do an excellent job of dividing things into categories.    Child abuse on this side, domestic abuse on this side, animal abuse on another side. There are advantages from leveling the walls which makes the landscape of violence more visible.

Advocates for humans and animals soon see the landscape of violence begin to look familiar.   Animal welfare organizations are calling attention to animal abuse as a "human problem".  Since the focus on animals is frequently seen as silly or less serious, the link between human and animal abuse has opened the door to addressing abuse as a whole.   The concept of the tangled web of violence, each strand connected to others, offers exciting possibilities for insights not available to any of us standing alone on one side of a wall or another.  

Animal abuse and domestic violence can occur anywhere. There are no social or economic boundaries.  Animal cruelty needs to be taken seriously. 

Report animal cruelty: If you witness or hear about an act of animal cruelty taking place, report it to local law enforcement.

Encourage legislation: Learn more about the animal abuse laws in your state and advocate for appropriate legislation. 

Educate children: Teach and encourage children to show kindness towards animals. If you are not a teacher, urge your local schools to integrate humane education into their curricula. If you are a teacher, bring humane education into your classroom. To help you, your local shelter may have outreach programs, education materials, camps, etc.

Advocate for nonviolence: Work within your community to increase awareness of the link between animal cruelty and human violence.

Volunteer your services: In some communities, foster homes for pets have been created to enable more abused persons to leave an abusive relationship.

Increase public awareness: Work to increase awareness of the link between animal cruelty and domestic violence.

Communities must recognize that abuse to any living being is unacceptable and endangers everyone. Children should be taught to care for and respect animals. 

With that in mind, please be sure to do the following:

• Urge your local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, judges, and schools to take cruelty to animals seriously. Those charged with protecting our communities and animals must send a strong message that violence against any feeling creature—human or nonhuman—is unacceptable.

• Be aware of signs of neglect or abuse in children and animals, and immediately report suspected crimes to authorities. Take children seriously if they report that animals are being neglected or mistreated. Some children won’t talk about their own suffering but will talk about an animal’s.

• Don't ignore even minor acts of cruelty to animals by children. Talk to the child and the child’s parents. If necessary, call a social worker.

What Can Animal Shelters and Humane Organizations Do?

• Reach out to local domestic violence shelters and establish programs for emergency  housing of pets from homes with domestic violence

• If no space is available, work with animal foster care agencies to establish a network of  homes that might provide emergency care for these pets

• Incorporate information on these connections in school programs, particularly those that might reach children at risk of family violence

The most important approach to the problem of abuse is prevention. Much of the abuse of animals is motivated by fear, ignorance of animals, and an inability to empathize with the needs and feelings of others. Law enforcement officers, especially those who work with animals, can be an excellent aide to humane educators working to instill the knowledge and values that can help prevent children from starting on a destructive path. These efforts cannot undo generations of abuse, but they can be an effective step in breaking various cycles of family violence which are self-perpetrating from one generation to another.

References and Resources—American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; Center for Research on Violence Against Women and Children; Foster & Smith, Inc.; ASPCA Pet-Abuse.com; Dr. Randal Lockwood, ASPCA; Professor Frank R. Ascione - University of Denver; FBI Agent Allen Brantley; FBI Agent Robert K. Ressler