ONE OF THE FAMILY-

D O N ’ T F O R G E T T H E D O G !E C O L O G I C A L A S S E S S M E N T F R A M E WO R K

WHY IS SCREENING FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY IMPORTANT:

- child sexual, physical and emotional abuse,

- family violence,

- developmental delays or learning difficulties,

- bullying,

- undiagnosed mental health/ behavioural problems,

- post-traumatic stress disorder,

- poverty,

- family, community and cultural beliefs,

- peer pressure,

- substance use,

- children in state care

- parent/child relationship problems

- normalized violence

A body of research recognizes the multiple factors that contribute to potential “youthful "animal cruelty including (but not limited to):

64 % OF NZ FAMILIES HAVE A PET.

15,987 animal welfare cases were conducted in 2016

animals abused in 88 % of child abuse cases

When animals are abused, people

are at risk;

When people are abused, animals

are at risk

AT THE GATEAs Brian (social worker) enters the gate he notes the large breed dog eyeing him from behind the high fence. The dog is chained to a post. Brian creeps slowly down the path towards the house, so not to startle the dog, Brian is frightened. The dog rushes towards him barking. The dog is halted mid-gallop by the jolt of the tightened chain.

A small six-year-old boy comes out yelling at the dog to ‘shut up’ and kicks the dog a number of times in the leg. The child grins at Brian and tells him the dog is ‘tough and only likes the family’, so he had better keep his distance. The dog looks blankly at Brian: he passes as the child holds the dog’s chain tightly. The child knows that Brian has come to his home to ask why he has not attended school for the past term.

ASSESSMENT STARTS AT THE GATEWhat are the dog’s living conditions?

Restrained by one-metre-long heavy chain.

No kennel

Bucket of water under house tap

What is the quality of the dog/child relationship?

Animal abuse as reprimand

No understanding demonstrated of dog’s behaviour

No empathy demonstrated towards dog

No warmth indicated between the child and the dog.

WHY DOES THE CHILD PHYSICALLY DISCIPLINE THE DOG?

₋ Who models this behaviour?

₋ What is the hierarchy of the family?

₋ Are the child’s basic needs for care and protection met?

₋ (Are the animal’s basic needs for care and protection met?)

₋ Is the child at risk of a dog bite?

₋ Are the children/family members in receipt of physical discipline?

₋ Is physical abuse normalised?

WHY DOES JOHN HURT ANIMALS?

Family

Individual

Peers

Community

FAMILY VIOLENCE

Animal abuse in families often is one of the first indicators that a family is at risk of inter family violence.

Identifying animal abuse provides an evidence based approach to safeguard women and children from abuse and neglect, provide needed support to families, and protect animals.

PETS AS PAWNS-ROGUSKI (2012)• 54.7% threatened to kill one of their pets, animals and/or farm animals

• 36.5% reported a pet or animal had actually been injured or killed some time in their relationship

• 90% of threats and actual harm to a pet, animal or other animal were made by partners

• 32.7% one or more of their children had witnessed their partner threaten to injure or kill a pet or animal.

• 24.5% witnessed someone actually injure or kill a pet or animal.

One third of survey respondents

reported having stayed in the

relationship for fear that their

partner would abuse their pet.

Psychological Abuse

Nurturance

Self -Image

Threat

Freedom

WHY INCLUDE THE ANIMALS

As Sally (social worker) enters the kitchen, Jess says “don’t mind the dog, she’s not usually allowed in the house but she was hit by a car last week”.

Sally has supported Jess and her young family into a new house following the breakup of Jess’ marriage. The children are struggling to settle into school and pre-school and together Jess and Sally have been revising the family budget.

LISTEN TO THE DOGWhat can the dog tell Sally about the current family situation?

The dog is lame and has received no veterinary treatment

Jess stated the dog will heal itself and that the dog does not appear to be feeling pain. Jess has been giving the dog Panadol.

The family do not have the finances to care for the dog

Both Jess and Sally know that the family’s finances are stretched. Is it possible to include the dog’s care needs in the budget?

What networks are available to Jess to assist her to care for her dog and family’s needs?

THE CAR ACCIDENTJess tells Sally that her ex-husband purposefully drove his car over the dog in retaliation for the marriage breakup. She is afraid of her ex-husband and has not wanted to draw the attention of the police or CYFS. Jess has kept the dog inside so that her ex-husband can do no further harm to the dog.

THE CHILDRENThe children witnessed their father driving over the dog.

Jess explains that the children were distraught following the accident.

The oldest child has wanted to remain at home to make sure the dog is okay and cries each morning before school.

Jess noted that the children are fighting more at home and she is having trouble getting the children to sleep.

Jess is frustrated with her 10-year-old daughter who is speaking in a baby voice and who becomes very angry when playing with her siblings. Her daughter has wet the bed on two occasions, Jess is unsure why this occurred and feels it may be because of the new house or as an act of defiance towards her mother.

THE PAST Jess explained that her ex-husband threatened to hurt the dog when his children were naughty. She reported that the children loved the dog and would immediately stop their behaviour and listen to their father.

Jess reported that her ex-husband had no patience and would hit the dog when the dog did not do what he wanted or when the dog was in his way.

The children had been given a kitten by their grandmother. Jess described the kitten as unfriendly and always scratching people.

Jess returned the cat to her mother because the children did not know how to care for it and she was afraid they would hurt it when fighting with each other.

A N I M A L C R U E L T Y = F A M I L Y V I O L E N C E ?

W H A T I S T H E I M P A C T O N C H I L D R E N W I T N E S S I N G A N I M A L C R U E L T Y ?

W H A T I S T H E I M P A C T O N T H E N O N - A B U S I V E P A R E N T ?

ANIMAL CRUELTY AND THE CHILD

“children may cast their pets as a

functional younger sibling, as a peer

playmate, as their own children or even as

a security- providing attachment figure.” Melson (2003)

INTEGRATED SAFETY RESPONSE• encourages Inter-agency Cross Reporting for the early identification of

family violence

• identifies ‘abuse of pets’ a strong indicator of a victim being at “increased risk of serious harm or homicide from family violence”.

• The Family Violence Risk Assessment Management Framework (RAMF) aims to ensure that risks will be identified, assessed and managed consistently across the country for victims and perpetrators.

SCREENING QUESTIONS

• Do you have a pet or animals at home?

• Who looks after your pet or the animal?

• Have you ever been worried about your pets or the animals?

• Has anyone, threatened to hurt, hurt or acted violently towards your pet?

• What happened?

SAFETY PLANNING MEASURES AND ANIMAL CRUELTY• protective measures for animals.

• direct intervention during FV altercation.

• demonstrate consideration and care for animal.

• implications for children who directly intervene.

• implication for partners who remain in violent relationship.

THE THREE TYPES OF ANIMAL CRUELTY

Early YearsPre-school and primary school children may act with cruelty to animals because they have not developed the cognitive skills or the emotional intelligence needed to understand that an animal’s feelings and needs are different from their own.

Animal cruelty by primary school aged children may indicate that the child is experiencing significant emotional, environmental or physical difficulties that require targeted specialist intervention.

- Developmental Delays – the child is not developing the anticipated cognitive abilities of the age group.

- Emotion Dysregulation- the child struggles to self-soothe and easily becomes agitated, angry or distressed in response to new or challenging situations.

- The child is being bullied by peers or siblings.

- Family Violence and Child Abuse

- Compromised Attachment to primary care giver

MIDDLE YEARS.

- Anxiety: children may lash out, push, step on an animal when in a heightened anxious state. The child may be phobic towards animals.

- ASD: children may not demonstrate compassion towards animals due to poor theory of mind (the ability to understand others emotions and intentions) or difficulty regulating emotion.

- ADHD: children who have poor impulse control and high distractibility may harm animals due to limited attentiveness.

- Mood Disorder: children who demonstrate mood swings (oscillating between heightened excitement, anger, distress) and lack of interesting activities or others.

- Oppositional Defiant Disorder: the child demonstrates a persistent pattern of anger, irritability, arguing, defiance or vindictiveness towards authority figures

- PTSD- post traumatic play may include cruelty to animals due to the child's re-enactment of their personal abuse or dissociative response to animals (the child is disconnected from their thoughts and feelings).

“YOUTHFUL” ANIMAL CRUELTY

Cruelty to animals entered The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in the revised third edition (American Psychiatric Association, 1987) as a criterion for conduct disorder. Initial psychiatric interest in animal cruelty began in the 1960’s when a psychiatrist, John MacDonald, identified animal cruelty as an indicator of potential inter-personal human violence.

Low WarmthHigh Conflict

Family violenceCSALow

supervision

Poor Connection to

SchoolPTSD

Peer Group

Anti AuthoritarianDestruction to PropertyFire LightingAffect DysregulationTheftBed WettingTruancy

ASSESSMENT- ANIMAL CRUELTY

LD/DDMental HealthAttachmentSocial skillsBullied

Family Violence Family Beliefs Modelled BehaviorPoor SupervisionParent Unavailable

Peer InfluenceViolence as controlAssert status Substance Use

REFERENCES Ascione, F. R. (1997). Battered women's reports of their partners' and their children's cruelty to animals. Journal of emotionalabuse, 1(1), 119-133.

Becker, F., & French, L. (2004). Making the links: Child abuse, animal cruelty and domestic violence. Child Abuse Review, 13(6),399-414.

Becker, K. D., Stuewig, J., Herrera, V. M., & McCLOSKEY, L. A. (2004). A study of firesetting and animal cruelty in children: Family influences and adolescent outcomes. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(7), 905-912.

Currie, C. L. (2006). Animal cruelty by children exposed to domestic violence. Child abuse & neglect, 30(4), 425-435.

DeGue, S., & DiLillo, D. (2009). Is animal cruelty a “red flag” for family violence? Investigating co-occurring violence toward children, partners, and pets. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24(6), 1036-1056

Fanslow, J. L., & Robinson, E. M. (2011). Sticks, stones, or words? Counting the prevalence of different types of intimate partner violence reported by New Zealand women. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 20(7), 741-759.Flynn, C. P. (1999). Animal abuse in childhood and later support for interpersonal violence in families. Society & Animals, 7(2), 161-172.

Gullone, E. (2011). Conceptualising animal abuse with an antisocial behaviour framework. Animals, 1(1), 144-160.

Jessor, R., & Jessor, S. L. (1977). Problem behavior and psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of youth.

McDonald, S. E., Collins, E. A., Nicotera, N., Hageman, T. O., Ascione, F. R., Williams, J. H., & Graham-Bermann, S. A. (2015). Children's experiences of companion animal maltreatment in households characterized by intimate partner violence. Child abuse & neglect, 50, 116-127.

Maiuro, R. D. 2001. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will also hurt me: Psychological abuse in domestically violent relationships”. In Psychological abuse in violent domestic relations, Edited by: ’Leary, K. D. O and Maiuro, R. D. ix–xx. New York: Springer.

Roguski, M. (2012). Pets as pawns: The co-existence of animal cruelty and family violence. Report prepared for Royal New ZealandSociety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and The National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges.

Saltzman, L. E., Fanslow, J. L., McMahon, P. M. and Shelley, G. A. 1999. Intimate partner violence surveillance: Uniform definitions and recommended data elements (Version 1.0), Atlanta, GA: National Centre for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Shapiro, K., Randour, M. L., Krinsk, S., & Wolf, J. L. (2013). The assessment and treatment of children who abuse animals: The AniCare child approach. Springer Science & Business Media.

Simmons, S., Knight, K., & Ellis, C. (2015). Youthful animal abuse and later problem behavior outcomes: findings from two generations. Contemporary Justice Review, 18(4), 435-448.

Thompson, K. L., & Gullone, E. (2006). An investigation into the association between the witnessing of animal abuse and adolescents' behavior toward animals. Society & Animals, 14(3), 221-243.

Animal Welfare Institute https://awionline.orgSpot Abuse Org http://www.spotabuse.org/National Family Violence Clearing House https://nzfvc.org.nzAmerican Humane Org. http://www.americanhumane.orgNational Link Coalition http://nationallinkcoalition.org