title: The connection between animal abuse and interpersonal violence: A review from the veterinary perspective.
abstract: Several studies have reported a connection between animal abuse and interpersonal violence. The importance of veterinarians in recognizing and intervening in the cycle of violence has been debated in different articles. This review outlines the findings about this connection around the world and describes the role veterinarians play in this field. We looked up electronic databases and analyzed articles published between 1960 and 2016. Publications were classified into three categories: area of publication, topic of the study and continent where the study had been conducted. Out of the 96 articles included, 76 (79.2%) were from North America. None were from South America or Africa. Ninety-four articles (97.9%) found some association between animal abuse and violence against people. The rates of co-occurrence between domestic violence and animal abuse reported varied between 25% and 86%. Furthermore, children who were abused, exposed to domestic violence, or animal abuse were at risk of developing criminal behavior. Veterinarians play an important role in public health and animal welfare. Yet, only seven articles (7.3%) were published in the field of veterinary medicine. Studies report that between 42.8% and 86% of veterinarians know about the "Link". However, most veterinarians not being trained to intervene in cases of animal abuse and human violence. This emphasizes the importance of educating veterinarians about this topic and their participation in this area.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Veterinárias, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Rua dos Funcionários, 1540, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Electronic address: stefanymonsalve@ufpr.br.
authors.forename: Stefany
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Monsalve
authors.affiliation: Escola de Medicina Veterinária e Ciência Animal, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Professor Doutor Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: fernando@vps.fmvz.usp.br.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Veterinárias, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Rua dos Funcionários, 1540, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Electronic address: ritamaria@ufpr.br.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garcia
mesh_terms: D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse; D017579:Domestic Violence; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D018634:Veterinarians
keywords: Animal cruelty; Child abuse; Companion animal maltreatment; Domestic violence; Veterinary medicine