Denver (October 12, 2009)

During the month of October, the American Humane Association supports the efforts of the Domestic Violence Awareness Project (DVAP) by recognizing the seriousness of domestic violence.  Further, American Humane believes its Pets and Women’s Shelters (PAWS)® Program can, in many cases, help alleviate some of the problems associated with domestic violence.  

The PAWS Program, launched in February 2008, is the first and only national initiative to promote on-site housing of pets at family violence shelters in order to maintain the human-animal bond, which can be crucial to recovery after a crisis. When the PAWS Program began, American Humane was aware of only four domestic violence shelters that provided on-site housing for pets. Now there are 28 such shelters, with seven more in the process of conversion.

Between 71 and 85 percent of women entering domestic violence shelters reported that a partner had threatened, injured or killed the family pet, according to a study done in 1997. And a 2007 study showed up to 48 percent of women either delay leaving an abusive home or remain in the home out of fear for their pets’ safety if they were to leave them behind. Often, because of few options for safely housing pets from abusive homes, victims feel they have little choice but to stay and subject themselves, their children and their pets to further violence.

The PAWS Program acknowledges the link between human violence and animal cruelty. But it also recognizes the healing bond pets can provide to people who have endured trauma. American Humane encourages all domestic and family violence shelters across the country to take the necessary steps toward implementing a PAWS Program at their facilities. American Humane has published a PAWS Program Startup Guide to help shelters assess their needs and to provide step-by-step instructions for implementing the program. American Humane also provides free technical assistance and guidance to implement PAWS.  Materials are available at www.americanhumane.org/paws.

“The goal of the PAWS Program is to enable more domestic violence victims to leave abusive households without leaving their pets behind and at risk. We hope that more domestic violence shelters will talk to us or read the Startup Guide and realize that implementation is not costly or difficult,” says Allie Phillips, J.D., American Humane’s vice president of public policy and creator of the PAWS Program.

The DVAP is a collaborative effort that was launched to support domestic violence programs’ awareness and education efforts for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The DVAP collaborates to collect, develop and distribute resources and ideas relevant to advocates' ongoing public and prevention awareness and education efforts, not only in preparation for DVAM, but throughout the year.

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