When They Hurt The Ones We Love: Animals, Interpersonal Violence and Coercive Control

Capability levels: Emerging, Evolving, Established

Pets are more than companions—they are part of the family. In the context of IPV, they can become targets, tools of control, and barriers to safety. As social workers, recognising this link is vital to supporting the whole family.

As social workers, we’re trained to see the whole person within their environment—but often, that environment includes more than just people. This webinar will explore a critical but frequently overlooked aspect of family violence: companion animals as victim-survivors in their own right. Pets are not just passive witnesses in homes affected by intimate partner violence—they are often targets, tools of coercive control, and sources of deep emotional support. Recognising this link is essential to providing trauma-informed, inclusive care and improving the safety and outcomes of the individuals and families we work with.

Understanding the link between animal abuse and intimate partner violence strengthens our capacity as social workers to assess risk, engage more empathetically with clients, and develop comprehensive, inclusive safety plans. By recognising the significance of the human–animal bond in situations of coercive control, we can better support individuals and families in their efforts to seek safety and healing.

This webinar explores the often-overlooked link between intimate partner violence (IPV) and violence against companion animals. Drawing on recent Australian research, we examine how perpetrators use harm or threats toward pets as a tactic of coercive control—manipulating, isolating, and emotionally terrorising victim-survivors. We will unpack the impacts on women, children, and animals, and discuss why this intersection matters deeply to social workers. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for screening, safety planning, and advocating for animal-inclusive services—recognising that protecting pets can be critical to protecting people.

Who should attend?

This webinar is designed for social workers and allied professionals working in domestic and family violence, child protection, crisis services, community support settings, and veterinary social work. However, as animal-inclusivity is becoming increasingly important with the families we work with, it is a good introduction to animal-inclusive practice and will provide some insight into human-companion animal attachment.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

1. Describe how perpetrators of interpersonal violence may use violence against family animals as a strategy for coercive control
2. Be aware of and respond to the barriers for victim-survivors to leave perpetrators involving animal violence
3. Identify the impacts of animal violence on victim-survivors, children and family animals
4. Create safety for victim-survivors recovery by utilizing animal-inclusive assessment within the legal and ethical frameworks guiding social work practice
5. Demonstrate the benefits of collaboration and animal-inclusivity in traditionally human-centric service provision

AASW Credentials: Family Violence, Child Protection

Can't attend live? Your registration includes a copy of the presentation slides and 2 weeks' free access to the event recording.