BRATTLEBORO — Batterers are opportunistic in finding ways to control their partner, so it's no surprise that household pets, too, might be targets for harm.
Abusers often direct their violence at anyone or anything a victim loves, whether to coerce her while she's still in the relationship or to punish her for getting out.
For many women, this violence or threat presents an added barrier to leaving, unless there's a safe haven for their pets, too. About a third of survivors have actually felt the need to prolong staying in a relationship, rather than sacrifice a beloved pet's welfare.
Just how prevalent is animal cruelty in these households?
According to a recent national survey, 68 percent of domestic-violence victims reported violence by their batterer toward pets; 87 percent of those incidents happened right in front of the women and 75 percent in front of their kids, too.
And harm to animals is a strong indicator of escalated risk for humans as well.
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We've seen progress on addressing the issue at both the grassroots and legislative levels; programs and communities nationwide are stepping up to include helping animal victims of domestic violence.
As of 2015, 30 states (including Vermont) have enacted laws that permit including pets in domestic-violence protective orders.
And this March, a bill was introduced in Congress that would extend federal domestic-violence laws to include pets and to establish a grant to help local programs absorb the added cost of sheltering them.
Aptly known as PAWS, the Pet and Women Safety Act seeks to fill an enormous void: only 3 percent of domestic-violence shelters currently allow pets.
The alternative that some programs do piece together is a patchwork of foster-options among animal-friendly resources.
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The Women's Freedom Center always approaches the issue case by case, depending on safety needs and the space available at a given time.
We've enlisted the help of both local and out-of-state humane societies, kennels, and veterinarians, as well as the Windham County Sheriff's Department for safe transport of pets.
Great care is taken to ensure the confidentiality of the person fleeing during this time, and the pet's foster family also stays confidential. Sometimes arrangements can be made for visiting the fostered pet in a central location, but often that's not possible, so victims might go weeks without seeing their pet at all.
Still, they're relieved just to have their pet safe, too, and be reunited as soon as possible. We encourage anyone interested in helping out to participate in the ongoing foster program through the Windham County Humane Society (802-254-2232).
Pets, of course, are unique sources of joy and comfort, and our bond with them is perhaps even more vital during times of crisis.
We often hear passionate accounts that a victim of domestic violence would “rather sleep in my car than leave without my dog,” or “my animals helped me get through this,” “they reminded me that I was still lovable,” “made me feel safer.” And the list goes on.
So we welcome more animal-loving allies in this work, pitching in to help reach our common and ultimate goal.
That is: humane societies for us all.