Femmes et sécurité des animaux familiers : des solutions pour les femmes ayant des animaux domestiques et qui quittent leur conjoint violent
Le lien entre la violence envers les femmes et la violence envers les animaux familiers est connu depuis longtemps. Dans l’intérêt de l’OAITH, des maisons d’hébergement membres de l’Association et de toutes les maisons d’hébergement pour femmes victimes de violence de l’Ontario, il faut savoir que les femmes victimes de violence conjugale ont moins tendance à quitter leur conjoint lorsqu’un animal de compagnie vit à la maison. Parmi les raisons, citons entre autres la crainte pour la sécurité de l’animal, la peur de sévices, de violence ou même pire envers l’animal, ce qui fait souvent l’objet de menaces de la part des abuseurs.
There has long been a connection to violence against women and violence against pets. Further to that, in the interest of OAITH and our member shelters, and all women’s shelters in Ontario, women who experience gender based domestic violence are less likely to leave the violent situation if there is a pet or companion animal in the home. Reasons for this include fear for the animal’s safety; fear of harm, violence or worse perpetrated on the animal, which are often used as threats by abusers.
OAITH has written this document as an information tool with multiple options that shelters may choose and consider, based always on the needs of the women they serve, their internal capacity, and resources.
There is limited existing research examining the prevalence of domestic violence among immigrant and refugee populations. Research reveals that rates of domestic violence within immigrant and refugee populations are not higher than other populations; however, immigrant and refugee women experiencing domestic violence face numerous barriers to disclosing and reporting violence and abuse, accessing support services, and navigating intersecting legal processes and social support systems.1,2 Understanding and preventing domestic violence and homicide within immigrant and refugee populations requires a culturally- informed lens that accounts for intersecting forms of oppression and recognizes the heterogeneity of immigrant and refugee populations.3 To be effective, risk assessment, risk management, and safety planning strategies should be culturally- informed and, where possible, culturally-specific.4
This research was funded by the Canada Firearms Centre and conducted in partnership with all the transition houses in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, Victim Services in Prince Edward Island, the Chief Firearms Officers in both provinces, Victim Services of the Fredericton City Police and Codiac RCMP in New Brunswick, and the RCMP “J” Division. The major goals of the study were to:
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examine from a broad regional perspective, the various dimensions or forms in which firearms serve as instruments of control, intimidation and abuse in family violence situations;
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expand the information base on forms of firearms misuse (e.g. threats to kill the family pet or farm animals, commit suicide, harm others, and so on);
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expand the information base on firearms victimization;
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document service providers’/crisis workers’ perceptions of domestic firearms abuse
and their influence on safety planning and intervention strategies;
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document rural perceptions, norms and values on the relationships between firearms, domestic violence and animal abuse;
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inform policy and program responses to the risk factors of domestic firearms abuse and violence;
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contribute to a communications plan for the benefit of, and use by, service providers who seek to protect women, children and pets from firearms threats, abuse and violence.
Although the experiences of women living with domestic violence have been investigated through many qualitative and quantitative research studies, less is known about the effect of the presence of animals on their decision making. Women, with or without children, face numerous emotional, financial and logistical barriers to safely leaving an abusive situation. Previous anecdotal evidence indicated that concerns about the fate of companion animals or livestock could be an additional barrier to making the decision to leave.
Although there is a growing body of literature documenting the cooccurrence of animal abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV), only a few studies have examined the relationship between animal maltreatment, types of IPV, and abuse severity.
Data were gathered from 86 abused women receiving services from domestic violence shelters across Canada via a structured survey about pet abuse and the level and types of IPV perpetrated by abusive partners.
While there are many similarities, LGBTQ2S+ IPV is a social problem that comes with distinct causes, dynamics and consequences. Homophobia and transphobia in uence LGBTQ2S+ IPV in a variety of ways: from motivating abusers, to discouraging victims from seekinghelp, tocreatingunique IPV tactics and building up powerful barriers for service providers.
While the circumstances around individuals seeking shelter are complex and varied, we know that oppressive structures, such as economic injus ce, racism, and sexism, play a key role. These systemic forces interact to shape the experiences of women living with in mate partner violence (IPV) and housing issues. The narra ves in this newsle er come from the courageous women who shared their stories with advocates and researchers that work to bring greater understanding and a en on to this serious social issue.