Those who torture, maim or intentionally injure animals may progress toward domestic battery of spouses or children, according to Lewis Galway.
“There are a number of risk predictors of violence, and one of the greatest ones is previous incidents of violence against humans or animals,” Galway said.
Galway, an employee at Assessment, Counseling and Educational Services-which works with batterers in group therapy sessions-was one of three panelists to explore the link between domestic violence and animal abuse at a Friday afternoon discussion in the Union Theater.
Utah State University psychology professor Frank Ascione, one of the world’s leading experts on the topic, told the crowd of about 40 that animal abuse is common in the homes of victims of domestic abuse.
According to Ascione, 74 percent of battered women have pets in the home and sometimes, their love for their animals keeps victims from leaving their abusers.
“This is an obstacle thatmight prevent women from seeking safety,” Ascione said, pointing out that few shelters for battered women offer pet care.
Salt Lake County Animal Services’ Temma Martin rounded out the panel, and told the crowd that animal abuse can be used by batterers as a means of psychological warfare against their victims.
“Abuse against animals can be a huge element of control…The pet can be used to terrorize other people in the home,” she said.
Ascione furthered that point, saying that animal abuse in the home plays out in many ways-sometimes subtle, but nearly always harmful.
“This is a real issue of control and terror that has a devastating impact on victims of domestic violence,” he said.
The panelists also spent time discussing why perpetrators of animal abuse face such light sentences under the law.
“The problem is that many prosecutors see cases of animal cruelty as isolated incidents and not related to other acts of violence,” Galway said.
Martin agreed, adding that in Utah, state legislators are under added pressure from their constituencies to keep laws as they are.
“Overall, we tend to have a pretty rural attitude toward animals in Utah…In the past, legislators haven’t been very supportive of increasing penalties for animal cruelty,” she said.
Though animal abuse may occur in homes where spouses also are battered, Ascione said the act isn’t limited to adults.
“In some cases, when children are growing up in severely dysfunctional environments, they may act out on animals if they have access to them,” he said.
