Image from effiempp.ca

 

“Research increasingly shows that violence directed at animals can be an indicator of escalating violence within the home,”

MPP Triantafilopolous, for Oakville North-Burlington.

 

As a pet-friendly gender-based violence shelter, North York Women’s Shelter is pleased to support MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos’ new motion for mandatory lawyer education on the link between violence toward animals, and violence toward humans. 

 

The proposed motion recognizes the reality that animal cruelty is rarely an isolated act, and often a potential early warning sign of broader patterns of entitlement, violence and harm which may be caused to others – including intimate partners and family members. By requiring legal professionals to be educated on this link, legal systems will be better equipped to recognize early signs of gender-based or family violence, appropriately intervene, and take steps that help safeguard those most at risk, particularly women,  marginalized genders, children, and other vulnerable individuals. 

Image from Canva

 

This initiative builds on MPP Triantafilopoulos’ previous work in 2022, introducing the motion that became Kiera’s Law, mandating education for judges and legal professionals on intimate partner violence. 

While the motion has yet to be passed, it signals a growing awareness within Ontario of the important role the legal system can play in protecting survivors of gender-based violence, by looking at the patterns that predict violence in the home.  

North York Women’s Shelter has been officially pet-friendly since 2020, and in many cases, the animals in the home have been through violence they will never have the words to explain. We welcome this shift toward protecting the most vulnerable members of the family, while recognizing animal abuse as an opportunity to protect vulnerable individuals by recognizing cases of gender-based violence earlier on.