Categorization of Attitudes Towards Animals in Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

• In Event: Lightning Talk: Female Victims and Partners: Violence Against Women and Family Support Systems

Abstract

We analyzed a sample of 50 victims of IPV that were receiving psychological and medical support. 22 of them lived with at least one animal and 6 had needed the services of a safe haven program for the animal (VioPet). Our objective was to categorize women’s attitudes towards animals.
We identified a group that had no attachment to their animal but treated them properly (in most cases, the offender was the caretaker and either had abandoned the home or was in prison). A second group had attachment but presented what we named “comparative grievance,” meaning that they would compare to how well the partner treated the animal. Another group saw the dog as a “savior” either physically (because he had saved their lives during a fight with the offender), psychologically (some say the animal and their children were the only reasons to go on), or both. There was another group of overwhelmed survivors because, due to the atmosphere of violence and/or direct animal cruelty, the animals may present symptoms of abuse such as phobias, fear, etc. This made survivors worry about their health but was a burden since they did not know how to help them, worsening their feelings of guilt.

Authors

• Nuria Querol, Profiling & Crime Behaviour Analysis Group, University of Barcelona

• Àngel Cuquerella, Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Catalonia