Linking Policy and Practice: Exploring Professional’s Knowledge, Barriers, and Experience Reporting ‌the Link� between Interpersonal Violence and Animal Abuse

Background and Purpose: “The Link” is an empirically supported pattern of behavior that demonstrates that abuse of pets can be indicative of a precursor or ongoing inter-personal violence, child abuse, or elder abuse. Ohio’s House Bill 33 (HB33) of 2021 sought to establish mandatory reporting of suspected animal abuse for many human and animal serving professions, and serves as a case study for understanding the effectiveness of abuse reporting laws.

Methods: A confidential, researcher created survey was emailed over 1,500 professionals in Ohio named mandatory reporters in HB33. A total of 160 professionals completed the survey. Frequency distributions were examined for study variables. One-ways ANOVA, chi-square, and independent samples t-test were conducted to examine the associations between demographic variables and key aspects such as understanding of The Link, barriers to reporting, and experience with professional training. Following the survey, respondents were also invited to follow-up focus groups (N=14).

Results: Survey results indicated that the majority of respondents were female (78%), with males (19%) and non-binary individuals (3%). Approximately two-thirds of the respondents were aged 35 or older. Occupational distribution showed that less than half (48%) were engaged in human welfare professions, while 20% worked within the animal welfare sector. Majority of respondents (82%) had at least three years of experience in their current primary occupation. Additionally, 84% of the participants reported being mandatory reporters. For training on reporting suspected cruelty or neglect of companion animals or humans, slightly less than 90% of respondents reported having received training in either one or both types of cruelty or neglect. Conversely, 11% indicated that they had not received any training related to animal or human cruelty and neglect. There were significant differences in awareness of the link between human and animal cruelty and neglect among respondents, based on their current primary occupation. Awareness was lower among those working in human welfare compared to their counterparts in animal medical, law and policy, and animal welfare sectors (p < .01). Regarding the reasons for suspecting human or animal abuse, participants from the human welfare sector reported higher suspicions based on the behavior of people (p < .01) and the physical appearance of people (p < .02). Conversely, respondents in the animal welfare sector were highest in suspecting abuse based on the behavior of animals (p < .01) and the physical appearance of animals (p < .001).

Conclusion and Implications: Findings support the occurrence of human and animal violence are systematically and intrinsically linked. The overarching recommendation is for consistent governmental support for education, programming, and legislative revision. To address the victimization of vulnerable populations, a multi-systemic approach is recommended: 1. Modify HB33 to clarify who is a mandatory reporter and include all relevant professions; 2. Provide financial support to develop and implement a required training for all mandatory reporters; 3. Create a centralized reporting procedure and requirement. While there is ample opportunity to increase efficiency and reduce barriers, Ohio’s HB33 is a framework for replication in other states and communities.