Domestic violence is a pervasive issue that impacts all members of a household, including pets. There is comprehensive quantitative evidence to suggest that domestic violence and pet abuse commonly co-occur; however, as the personal accounts of pet-owning survivors have started to emerge through qualitative investigation, more research is needed to understand the unique experiences of pet abuse that take place alongside instances of domestic violence. This phenomenological investigation utilized control balance theory and a feminist framework to uncover the experiences of survivors who entered their pets into an animal care program specifically designed to help during times of domestic violence escape. Data from interviews with 12 participants were compared to secondary qualitative data from anonymous animal abuse surveys at the community partner organization. A lens of interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify global themes related to survivors' experiences of pet ownership while escaping domestic violence. From these testimonies, pets were revealed to be important to consider in responding to domestic violence because pets not only played key roles of emotional support in the survivors' lives, but they were also threatened and harmed by abusers to control victims. Furthermore, the provision of pet care for survivors who were escaping domestic violence was determined to be a meaningful intervention. Through learning of the experiences of pet ownership along the trajectory of recovery for domestic violence survivors, advocates may be better prepared to serve clients at this intersection. Furthermore, the empirical understanding of the role of the human-animal bond in domestic violence survivorship was augmented by this study.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilken betydelse husdjur har i Socialtjänstens arbete med våldsutsatta kvinnor. Data samlades in med webbenkäter som besvarades av 25 socialsekreterare i olika kommuner. Resultatet jämfördes med tidigare forskning och analyserades med begrepp från Bronfenbrenners ekologiska systemteori. Resultatet visar att socialsekreterarna bedömer att husdjur är viktiga att ha i åtanke i våldsärenden och i likhet med tidigare forskning har många erfarenhet av att kvinnor stannar kvar i våldsamma relationer på grund av oro för husdjur. Trots detta samverkar man sällan med andra aktörer och många uppgav att det saknas tydliga rutiner för klienters husdjur på arbetsplatsen. Vidare tror en majoritet inte att Socialtjänsterna i Sverige beaktar sambandet mellan våld mot kvinnor och våld mot husdjur. En slutsats är att relationen till husdjur kan försvåra ett uppbrott från en våldsam partner, men att detta inte beaktas i större utsträckning kan bero på husdjurens juridiska ställning. / The aim of the study was to investigate the importance of pets in the Social Services’ work with women subjected to domestic violence. Data were collected using web surveys answered by 25 social workers in different municipalities. The results show that the social workers assess pets as an important factor to keep in mind in cases of violence and that many have experience of women remaining in violent relationships due to concern for their pets. Despite this they rarely collaborate with animal agencies and some of the social workers experience that their workplace has a lack of clear guidelines regarding clients’ pets. A majority thinks that the link between violence against women and pets is not generally considered by the Social Services. A conclusion is that the current legal status of pets may be the reason why they are not considered more in social work and that this may constitute a risk factor for women remaining in violent relationships.

Ett samband har påvisats mellan våld mot djur och våld i nära relation. Forskning betonar därför vikten av att yrkesverksamma besitter kunskap om detta samband som en del i att förebygga, identifiera och motverka våld i nära relation. Syftet med detta arbete var att undersöka socialtjänstens organisatoriska förutsättningar till att inta ett sällskapsdjursinkluderande förhållningsätt i arbetet med våld i nära relation. Med hänvisningar till bandet mellan människa och djur samt teorin om socialt stöd betonas den vinst som står att finna i ett förhållningssätt av detta slag. Som datainsamlingsmetod hölls semi-strukturerade intervjuer med sex socialarbetare verksamma inom området våld i nära relation i sex kommuner i Mellansverige. Framkommen data behandlades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys, och resultaten visar att om än vissa socialarbetare eftersträvar att inkludera djur, tenderar djur överlag stå lågt ner på socialtjänstens agenda. Genom nationella riktlinjer skulle därför ett enhetligare och mer metodiskt tillhandahållande av stöd kunna åstadkommas. / There is a link between violence against animals and domestic violence. Research emphasizes the importance of professionals possessing knowledge about the link as part of preventing, identifying and counteracting domestic violence. The purpose of this paper was to examine the social services' organizational conditions in adopting a pet-inclusive approach in the work with domestic violence. With references to the human-animal bond and the theory of social support, I emphasized the gain found in an approach of this kind. As method for data collection, semi-structured interviews were held with six social workers active in the field of domestic violence, from six municipalities in the middle parts of Sweden. Qualitative content analysis was then conducted, and the results indicate that although some social workers strive to include animals, animals generally have low priority on the social services agenda. A more consistent and effective provision of support could be achieved through national guidelines.