When the client is not the abuser, but one of the abused: Commentary on Lachance on breaking silence

The question of client confidentiality and reporting animal abuse is complicated when the client is not the abuser, and when the abuse (of both people and animals) may escalate precisely because it has been (or may be) reported

Attitude to animals: An indicator of risk of interpersonal violence?

Recent research has highlighted links between violence to animals and violence to people. Drawing on data investigating links between aggression and attitudes to animals, this paper assesses the utility of such theories, in particular addressing links between domestic violence, child abuse and harm to companion animals. We conclude that whilst causal relationships between attitudes to animals and violent behaviour cannot be established as yet, animals may well provide an insight into the cycle of abuse and therefore attitudes towards animals may be utilised to develop early intervention and prevention measures

Community demographics and the propensity to report animal cruelty

The last decade has seen an increased awareness concerning links between violence to animals and violence to humans. This has resulted in a number of cross-reporting initiatives between family service providers and animal welfare organisations. The success of such initiatives rests upon individuals being willing to report such violence. Thus there is a need to determine which variables influence an individual’s willingness to report deliberate animal cruelty/abuse. The aim of the current study was to examine demographic and attitudinal variables to ascertain their impact upon propensity to report deliberate animal harm. A telephone questionnaire resulted in 1208 valid responses from members of the general community. Results showed a number of variables which impacted upon the propensity to report including gender, occupation and acknowledgement of the link between family violence and deliberate animal harm. These variables and their implications are discussed

Theorizing animals : re-thinking humanimal relations

Utilising ideas from post-modernism and post-humanism this book challenges current ways of thinking about animals and their relationships with humans. Including contributions from across the social sciences the book encourages readers to reflect upon taken for granted ways of conceptualising human relationships with animals

Attitude to animals and empathy : comparing animal protection and general community samples

Although a number of studies have examined a range of demographic and personality variables that may impact upon attitudes towards the treatment of non-human species little consensus has been reached within the literature. The aim of the current study was to evaluate and assess levels of human-directed empathy and attitudes towards the treatment of animals in two diverse populations, namely the general community (n=543) and those within the animal protection field (n=389). Both groups of participants completed the Attitude towards the Treatment of Animals Scale (AAS) and the Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), a measure of human-directed empathy. Comparisons between the two samples indicated that those within the animal protection community scored more highly on both the animal attitude and human-directed empathy measures. Correlational analyses revealed a positive relation between AAS and IRI scores for both samples whilst the strength of the correlation was greater for those within the animal protection sample. These findings are discussed

Who will help in situations of intimate partner violence: exploring personal attitudes and bystander behaviours

Abstract: Intimate partner violence (IPV) continues to be a problem within society, with many studies focusing on general attitudes toward violence against women as a gauge of positive societal change in this area. To investigate whether individual personal attitudes toward violence against women were predictive of prosocial bystander behaviours in situations of IPV, 157 Australian community members completed an online survey. This survey investigated the factors of bystander intention, bystander self-efficacy, general and privacy attitudes toward violence against women, fear of intervening and the effects/impact of psychological abuse as predictors of willingness to intervene in IPV situations. Bystander intention, self-efficacy and gender were significantly associated with willingness to intervene, whilst respondent’s attitudes toward violence against women was not. The implications of these findings for promoting social control and bystander intervention in situations of IPV are discussed

Attitudes to animals in the animal protection community compared to a normative community sample

Attitudes towards the treatment of animals within the animal protection community remains largely under researched. In an attempt to begin to rectify this 407 members of the animal protection community were surveyed using the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS). Participants were also asked to indicate whether they identified more with animal rights or animal welfare perspectives, and a direct action or indirect action approach to securing animal protection. Results of the current study indicate that, regardless of philosophical or practical beliefs, those within the animal protection community were significantly more pro-animal welfare (as measured by the AAS) than members of the general community. This disparity was even greater between the current participants and those of a previous study who identified as being currently employed in the Primary Industry sector. Implications of this, as well as respondents’ philosophical and practical views are discussed

Revisiting a link: Animal abuse, bullying and empathy in Australian youth

Experience of deliberate animal harm has been found to be a risk factor for school-based violence and later criminality. However, much of the extant research is based on retrospective or caregiver reports with few studies surveying youth directly. The aim of the current study was to address this gap. Sixty-three Australian youth (47 females, 16 males) aged 14-18 years completed an online survey assessing their experience of engaging in and/or witnessing animal abuse (AA) and engaging in/being a victim of bullying. Levels of egoistic need for power and human-directed empathy were also assessed. Expected gender-based differences in experience of animal abuse (directly and as a witness) and personality variables were found. As a cohort, witnessing and/or directly engaging in AA significantly correlated with bullying, while engaging in (not merely witnessing) AA, lower affective empathy and a high need for power were found to predict perpetration of bullying for males. Disparity in findings reported in the literature as well as predictive links between bullying and animal abuse suggest the need for more research in this area. The inclusion of humane education content within extant anti-bullying interventions may prove efficacious in attending to multiple risk factors including empathy deficits

Engaged research in action : informing sexual and domestic violence practice and prevention

The counselling staff at Phoenix House understand research to mean ‘finding out’ and therefore use research in their everyday practice. The work is guided by robust rationales and is based on using practice experiences to inform research, and research to improve practice, policy and service delivery. This chapter explores the ten-year partnership between practitioners in a sexual violence intervention/prevention program in rural Queensland and academics of CQUniversity. It describes how engaged research has been an integral part of an action learning cycle, which ensures innovative services are delivered within an evidence-based framework, to achieve the best possible outcomes for service users. It concludes that engaged research contributes to community resilience by ensuring services are effective

Animal cruelty and delinquency, criminality and youth violence

Nearly five decades ago, Margaret Mead (1964, p. 21) stated, "The worst thing that can happen to a ·child is for him (sic) to harm an animal and get away with it. Animal cruelty kills respect for life." In the intervening years the concept of the "Link" (i.e., that engagement in deliberate harm of animals is related in some manner to propensity for violence more generally) has been explored from a number of perspectives, including (but not limited to) criminology, psychology, sociology and social work (see HSUS, 2007). Cruelty to animals ( CTA) is recognized across these disciplines as being of major concern not only for the health and welfare of the animal victim (Benetato, Reisman, & McCobb, 2011; Taylor & Signal, 2008), but also for the psychological, physical and social wellbeing of the perpetrator (e.g., Currie, 2006) and for society generally (Hensley, Tallichet, & Dutkiewicz, 2009; McPhedran, 2009). Throughout this chapter, we bear all three groups in mind as we present an overview of the main research in the area of animal cruelty and its links to other delinquency and criminality