Ontological Diversifications: Greening Domestic Violence and Abuse Studies on Companion Animals. Protection, Prevention and Intervention

Arguably, first championed by the second wave of feminism, the origins of the Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) sector in the UK are intertwined with issues of gender inequality and concerns about the harm and violence caused (primarily to women) within the domestic sphere. Exploring this harm, within the post-feminist era, recognition of DVA has tended to follow a hate crime trajectory where, hidden victims remain with vulnerable groups not attaining ideal victim status. As a result, these victims tend to be denied individual agency.

We wish to start a conversation that uses a common model within the DVA sector – The Power and Control Wheel – to argue that, the concept of denial of agency is equally applicable to the relatively underexplored area of companion animals/pets as hidden victims of DVA. We utilise perspectives from the DVA and green criminology literature that challenges the hierarchal concept of the species (anthropocentrism) placing humans at the top of a policy agenda comparative to non-human species (speciesism). In doing so, we propose a theoretical and ontological diversification within the field of DVA studies, combining the work of Green criminologists to help give voice to non-humans as independent agents that experience DVA.