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Changing Ethical Sensitivity Animal and human violence Historically, violence to animals has been viewed as an issue separate from other forms of family violence. However, in many instances, cruelty to animals, particularly companion animals, is a part of the landscape of family violence and at times shows strong links to interpersonal violence, notably child maltreatment and domestic violence and, to a lesser extent, elder abuse. These links are being examined in a resurgence of popular and interdisciplinary professional interest. A growing and compelling body of research is confirming anecdotal reports—and traditional cultural, ethical, and religious understandings—that acts of animal cruelty (described more contemporarily as animal abuse) may predict serious interpersonal aggression and familial dysfunction. In the continuum of family violence, an individual or family may manifest any one or any combination of the forms of abuse. Animal abuse is not necessarily a precursor to child maltreatment, domestic violence, or elder abuse. Rather, all four types of abuse are part of the complex constellation of family violence. Human services and animal welfare investigators are not surprised when they see multiple manifestations. When an individual commits or witnesses acts of abuse against animals, this may lead to a generalized desensitization to violence, which may evolve into acts of interpersonal aggression. Animal cruelty perpetrated by youths has been shown to be not a benign stage of growing up, but rather one of the earliest diagnostic indicators of conduct disorder. A significant number of serial killers and school shooters have had prior histories of abusing animals. People who abuse animals have been found to be significantly more likely to commit violent crimes against people. Several studies have reported that a majority of perpetrators of family violence kill, harm, or threaten companion animals, in order to silence, coerce, and further intimidate other vulnerable family members. The concept of “battered pets” has begun to enter the paradigm of family violence, mimicking earlier terminologies of “battered children” and “battered women.” Advocates of what is often called “the link” espouse three main premises. The first is that since companion animals are more prevalent than children in many Western households, and since they are commonly perceived as members of the family, acts of violence against them should be considered not in isolation but rather within the framework of family violence. Second, since laws prohibiting animal cruelty have historically been enacted not to protect animals’ inherent rights, but rather to protect public morals and private property, animal abuse should be seen as a human welfare issue with implications for public health and safety. And the third premise is that interdisciplinary analyses and collaborative social services interventions, utilizing the connections between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence, offer new opportunities for the study of violence and the hope for new insights and preventive solutions. Professionals are focusing on several programmatic areas of interest: ■ Establishing safety plans and emergency housing programs for the companion animals of battered women, in order to remove an obstacle that may prevent them and their children from escaping abusive relationships. ■ Coordinating cross-training among the four disciplines that teaches professionals to recognize multiple forms of family violence and to report these findings to appropriate authorities. ■ Increasing the criminal penalties for malicious acts of animal abuse; redefining these actions as crimes against public morals, rather than as crimes against property; and authorizing courts to order psychological assessment and anger management treatment for offenders and the inclusion of companion animals in protectionfrom -abuse orders. arkow / animal and human violence | 223 224 | farians / the feminist ethic of care ■ Including professionals in the four fields among those individuals who are mandated and protected by law to report suspected cases of abuse to appropriate authorities. ■ Enhancing empathy and building nonviolent conflict-resolution competencies—for example, in antisocial youths, by helping them utilize humane positive reinforcement techniques for dogs in shelters, thereby making these animals more adoptable. ■ Establishing objective diagnostic criteria that will guide veterinarians and animal protection professionals in separating accidental from deliberate injury to animals, thereby facilitating the recognition, treatment, and prosecution of cases of animal abuse. ■ Identifying psychological motivators that cause people to mistreat animals, in order to develop effective mental health prevention and treatment strategies. Although the animal protection community has been generally receptive to undertaking “link” programming, other professions have been somewhat reluctant, citing inadequate training, fear of litigation, economic loss, absence of organizational protocols, professional norms, confidentiality concerns, and inconsistent definitions of “abuse” across disciplinary lines. As professionals address these concerns, public support for a strong...

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