Domestic Violence: Hurting Children, Hurting Animals, Hurting Kids

1. National Conference for America’s Children Domestic Violence: Hurting Children, Hurting Animals, Hurting Kids

2. Goats Protect their Kids---Too Many Humans Don’t

3. Statistics on the Link Between Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse • Investigation of animal abuse is often the first point of social services intervention for a family in trouble.  • In one study, 70% of animal abusers also had records for other crimes. Domestic violence victims whose animals were abused saw the animal cruelty as one more violent episode in a long history of indiscriminate violence aimed at them and their vulnerability.

4. Statistics cont’d • Between 25% and 40% of battered women are unable to escape abusive situations because they worry about what will happen to their pets or livestock should they leave.  • 68% of battered women reported violence towards their animals. 87% of these incidents occurred in the presence of the women, and 75% in the presence of the children, to psychologically control and coerce them. 

5. ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Research • History • Health Impact from Domestic Violence • Pathways to Harm • Impact on Society • Effect on Child Custody

6. Reward for Protecting Children and Animals

7. Current Progress LEGISLATION • Virginia became the 24th state to allow courts to specifically include pets in domestic violence protection-from-abuse orders. Similar pet protection order bills are currently pending in Michigan, Ohio, and Iowa. • Indiana, one of 7 states in which an act of animal abuse intended to terrorize or intimidate a domestic partner is defined as domestic violence, has a bill that would increase the penalty for such acts to a Level 6 felony. • New Hampshire HB 1410 would include household and domesticated animals under the domestic violence protection statutes by adding animal cruelty to the list of conducts that constitute a credible threat to the petitioner’s safety or which reflect an ongoing pattern of behavior which causes the petitioner to fear for her or his safety or well being. The bill passed the House and is in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

8. Current Progress cont’d PET SAFEHOUSING • 86 women’s shelters have opened, or are currently building, facilities on-site to house the pets of domestic violence survivors. • Approximately 900 women’s shelters have established foster care programs with local animal organizations to care for these families’ pets. • Three online portals have been established by animalsandfamilies.org, RedRover.org and AWIOnline.org to help domestic violence survivors locate pet-friendly women’s shelters and foster pet referral programs.

9. Resources-Additional Information • National Link Coalition http://nationallinkcoalition.org/ • Humane Society of the United States http://www.humanesociety.org/ • American Humane Association http://www.humanesociety.org

10. Would You Like to Share $500 Billion Every Year? • Quincy Model • Economic Savings • Campaign to Create Quincy Model 2.0

11. Barry Goldstein Barryg78@aol.com 914-643-3142 www.Barrygoldstein.net www.Domesticviolenceabuseandchildcustody.com Coming Soon: NOT A PRIVATE MATTER: ENDING THE $500 BILLION ABUSER SUBSIDY