Protect domestic violence survivors by protecting their pets, ABA House says
At the ABA Midyear Meeting in Phoenix on Monday, the ABA House of Delegates considered how to best meet the needs of pet owners in family law and civil protection order proceedings. (Image from Shutterstock)
At the ABA Midyear Meeting in Phoenix on Monday, the ABA House of Delegates considered how to best meet the needs of pet owners in family law and civil protection order proceedings.
Resolution 504 urges government leaders to pass laws and support judicial processes that do the following:
• Protect pets in domestic relations proceedings, including by considering current or past acts of family violence or animal cruelty when entering orders or assigning ownership of pets.
• Protect victims of domestic and other violence by including protections for pets in civil protection orders related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, child abuse or protection of the elderly.
• Remove barriers to victims who are seeking safety for themselves and their pets by increasing emergency and transitional shelter and housing options and access to pro bono legal services.
The Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section submitted Resolution 504. Its co-sponsors were the Family Law Section and the Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence.
In introducing the resolution, Maleaha Brown, the chair of the Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, said domestic violence survivors often live in forced isolation and rely on their pets as a primary source of emotional support. She said perpetrators of abuse commonly exploit these close relationships by threatening or harming pets as a way to control their victims.
“As a former legal aid attorney myself who represented many survivors of domestic violence, I know all too well the many barriers that keep survivors from leaving abusive relationships,” Brown said. “This resolution will help bridge the access-to-justice gap faced by those survivors with pets.”
Research shows a connection between violence toward people and violence toward animals.
Follow along with the ABA Journal’s coverage of the 2025 ABA Midyear Meeting here.
In one study from 2021, which is cited in the resolution’s report, up to 89% of victims of intimate partner violence reported that animal abuse happened in their homes.
In another study cited in the report, 50% of children who lived in homes with domestic violence reported that the abuser threatened or harmed a pet to punish or exert power over family members.
Katherine Larkin-Wong, the Goal III Women Member-at-Large of the Board of Governors, shared her experience of watching her father kick her dog, Bear, so hard that it broke the dog’s leg in two places. She also was told to lie to the vet about how the injury happened or else Bear would be taken away.
Larkin-Wong later became a survivor’s advocate after watching her mother face physical, emotional and financial abuse—and after also fleeing from abuse.
“I have never publicly spoken about my status as a survivor, but I have chosen to do it today in front of this body and many friends because I believe in the importance of protecting victims of domestic violence,” said Larkin-Wong, who received a standing ovation. “And I believe that this resolution is one step forward to helping the courts and other lawyers recognize the ways that abusers control their survivors—not their victims.”
As of October, at least eight states and the District of Columbia had passed legislation relating to the well-being, best interests or care of pets in family law cases, the resolution’s report says. And as of December, at least 41 states, the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories had laws that include protections for pets in civil protection orders in domestic violence cases.
While research also shows that victims are more likely to remain in an abusive environment because of concern for a pet’s safety, most domestic violence programs are unable to accommodate pets in emergency housing, the report additionally says.
As part of the Pet and Women Safety Act, which became federal law in 2018, grants are made available to programs that help expand emergency and transitional shelter and housing options for domestic violence victims with pets.
The House overwhelmingly adopted Resolution 504.
Its proponents will support efforts to enact more laws that focus on the three components of the measure—family law, civil protection orders, and transitional and emergency housing for victims with pets. They also will support outreach, education and training of key stakeholders and encourage more pro bono lawyers to assist victims with pets.
See also:
Animal abuse and domestic violence can go hand in hand
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