Dr. Amy Fitzgerald, professor in the University of Windsor’s Department of Sociology and Criminology and the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, has authored papers examining animal-inclusive protection orders. (MIKE WILKINS/ University of Windsor)
By Lindsay Charlton
For many survivors of intimate partner violence, fear for their pets’ safety becomes another barrier to leaving — a concern backed by evidence that animal and partner abuse often co-occur.
A new study shows that protection orders including animals can offer better safeguards for both.
Dr. Amy Fitzgerald, professor in the University of Windsor’s Department of Sociology and Criminology and the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, has spent more than 20 years studying the link between animal abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV).
Her latest project — three papers examining animal-inclusive protection orders — explores the protections they provide and how effectively they’ve been used, particularly in cases involving coercive control and animals at risk of harm.
“The first paper looked at the landscape of these protection orders, and then a second paper focused on coercive control and looked at case law where they have helped mitigate that,” Fitzgerald said.
“That was one of the findings — that individuals who are forced to leave their pets behind, because a lot of domestic violence shelters don’t have programs for pets, are at high risk of having those animals used against them to further the coercive control, even while they’re in a shelter.”
She said the third paper in the series emerged as she reviewed her findings and considered how the orders could also improve general animal welfare.
“I think they might actually end up being a useful tool — not only to help human victims and animal victims of intimate partner violence, but also to help animals who are subjected to all sorts of uses and abuses in society,” she said.
Fitzgerald completed the research during her time at Harvard University — first as a visiting fellow in 2020, then again in 2024 with the Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School.
Her work with colleagues in the Animal and Interpersonal Abuse Research Group (AIPARG), including Betty Barrett and Patti Fritz, both at the University of Windsor, has already begun to shape legislation. About 44 states in the United States have amended their protection order statutes to include animals, helping people fleeing violent situations.
“It’s very heartening to know that the work we’re producing at the AIPARG isn’t just sitting on a shelf, so to speak. It’s being used, and we’re trying to be as proactive as we can,” Fitzgerald said.
Dr. Amy Fitzgerald, professor in the University of Windsor’s Department of Sociology and Criminology and the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, has authored papers examining animal-inclusive protection orders. (MIKE WILKINS/ University of Windsor)
Researchers from the group have also provided testimony before House of Commons committees and, more recently, Fitzgerald testified for a provincial review of its IPV response.
“We generate policy briefs and distribute them. We also look for opportunities like the Ontario review, which explained the benefits of including animals and providing funding to domestic violence shelters to create programming that is pet-inclusive,” she said.
One of AIPARG’s studies found that about a third of participants who had to leave a pet behind considered leaving the shelter and returning to their abuser, specifically because the pet remained in the home.
“When I give public talks, I always say, ‘If you suspect someone you care about is in an abusive relationship and they have pets — if you’re in a position to do so — offer to take their pets while they seek help,’” she said.
“That one gesture can really save people’s lives.”
The group has partnered with several organizations on public outreach, including Humane Canada and the U.S.-based Red Rover, which provides grants for shelters to develop pet programs.
Fitzgerald also engages in local advocacy.
Earlier this month, she hosted a booth at “Bark in the Park,” an annual event organized by Hiatus House for Woman Abuse Prevention Month.
“We want to spread the word that these two things are connected. In order to help people, it’s necessary now to help animals,” she said.
“There are more animals in homes than there are dependent children — I believe it’s about four times more. There’s definitely been a shift, and we need to account for that in our programming and legislation.”
In one study of women already in domestic violence shelters, the group found that 89 per cent reported their pets had also been mistreated by their abuser.
They also found a link to abuse severity.
“Having an abuser also abuse animals increases the probability that the abuse against the people in the home is going to be more frequent and more severe,” she said. “Also, more likely that the human victims will report fearing for their lives. That link exists across all types of intimate partner violence.”
Fitzgerald said there is still much work to do in Canada. Only two provinces currently allow animals to be included in protection orders.
In one of her papers, she outlines recommendations for strengthening these statutes — including closing loopholes, such as requiring someone to legally own the animal, which can be exploited by abusers.
“I hope animal law practitioners will read that paper and see there’s an area where we could probably gain better protection for animals by pointing to a source of law where they are not being treated purely as property — where it’s changed significantly,” she said.
Fitzgerald noted that many legal efforts to date have focused on large, charismatic animals like great apes and elephants.
“As a sociologist and criminologist, I know that the animals people share their homes with are probably the ones they’re going to have the closest relationships with,” she said. “I believe that’s going to move the needle more.”
With the two of the papers now published (in the journals Violence and Victims and Violence Against Women) and one soon to be in print (in the journal Social Problems), Fitzgerald said she’s ready to advocate for further changes.
“I’d like to mobilize the findings and convince provinces to include animals in protection order statutes,” she said.
“I now have the evidence. I analyzed case law in the U.S. where animals can be included, so I can show provinces that it’s working — and that it would make sense to enhance protection for people.”