Presenters include:
Todd Curtis, Special Investigator, Wood County Prosecutors
Vicki Deisner, Esq., Executive Director, Ohio Animal Advocates
Leah Stone, Ohio Domestic Violence Network Representative
Dr. Alana Van Gundy, Esq., Professor in Criminal Justice and Legal Advocate
Why This Workshop?
On April 12, 2021 Ohio H.B. 33 became law. This new law requires Ohio social workers, counselors, family therapists and veterinarians to report suspected animal abuse and dog wardens, animal control officers, and law enforcement to report suspected abuse of children. This law is important because compelling evidence links animal cruelty and neglect to domestic violence, child abuse, child sexual abuse, and elder abuse.
Animal abuse frequently is an indicator and predictor of interpersonal, family, and community violence, particularly in domestic violence and child maltreatment scenarios. Significant numbers of women report that threats to their companion and farm animals prevent them from leaving abusive relationships. Children who perpetrate or witness animal cruelty are at risk of being victims themselves and/or future perpetrators of violence, with lifelong adverse emotional consequences. Cross-training and cross-reporting among human services and animal protection agencies aid in creating more effective species-spanning community collaboratives that prevent and address these interlocking forms of family violence.
OPOTA and Ohio Animal Advocates, with support from the Animal Welfare Institute, will host this in-person workshop to explore this critical issue and opportunities to establish and enhance cross-training and cross-reporting processes at the state and local level. This workshop will explore “the dark side” of the human-animal bond and its implications for human and animal services, family welfare agencies, prosecutors, law enforcement, and human and veterinary medicine. It will describe strategies, public policy, research, and programs to prevent family violence and to respond to its human and animal victims.
Topics to be addressed include: Ohio’s cross-reporting law, the inclusion of pets in Ohio protective orders, safe havens for pets of survivors, applicable statutes and statistics, case studies, and how animal abuse is linked with child maltreatment, domestic violence, elder abuse, and community violence. There will be case studies which highlight the link between animal and human violence, a discussion of Ohio’s felony strangulation law, and information about utilizing threat assessments for better case resolution and responder’s safety.
For more information contact:
Vicki Deisner, Ohio Animal Advocates, vicki.deisner@gmail.com, 614-493-8383
Presented by Ohio Animal Advocates with funding provided by the Animal Welfare Institute.