Exploring the Linkages between Animal Abuse, Domestic Abuse, and Sexual Offending: A Scoping Review

Abstract

The abuse of animals is evident in different contexts. This article takes two discrete bodies of literature: threats and actual harm to animals in the context of domestic abuse and sex offending in the context of animal abuse. The reviews focus on the implications for risk assessment and risk management and explore the following questions: What is the international evidence base for threats or violence towards animals, with a specific focus on risk assessment, in the context of domestic abuse? What is the international evidence base for threats or violence towards animals, with a specific focus on risk assessment, in the context of sex offending? What similarities and differences are evident in the approaches in the two bodies of literature? A scoping review methodology was applied to the two bodies of animal abuse literature. The domestic abuse literature elicited 27 studies for full inclusion, while the sex-offending literature examined 15 papers. A broad analysis of the literature was taken to understand the implications for risk assessment and risk management. In the context of risk assessment, the literature indicates that threats or harm towards animals, including the sex abuse of animals, has the potential to be used in four ways: (1) animal abuse as an indicator of domestic abuse; (2) childhood animal abuse as a signal of other problems within a household; (3) animal abuse as an indicator of more severe domestic abuse; and (4) the inclusion of pet abuse as a unique form of domestic abuse. The comparison of the literature on animal abuse and animal sex abuse highlighted not only different approaches theoretically and methodologically but also important similarities. Both literature highlighted gaps in risk assessment, risk management, and the lack of identification and training in this neglected area of the service system prevention and response.