Landau R E
Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1999 Aug 1;215(3):328-31.
Many families seeking assistance from domestic violence agencies are known to local humane societies or animal control officials because of previous incidents of animal abuse. This is because pets are often the first victims of family disputes that erupt into violence. Analysis of domestic violence statistics indicates that veterinarians potentially treat hundreds of thousands of abused pets each year. Because veterinarians may be the first or only individuals to have access to abusive family situations, it is it important for veterinarians to be aware of potential signs of abuse of pets and their owners and to be familiar with the mechanisms for reporting suspected incidents of abuse. Thirty-one North American veterinary schools and a sample of large and small animal practitioners in Indiana were surveyed to understand to what degree current veterinary curricula prepare students to recognize abuse of animal patients and human clients and to what extent practitioners recognize and report their suspicions of abuse to appropriate authorities. The data indicate a discrepancy between beliefs about prevalence of abuse and the amount of time spent educating veterinary students to recognize and report that abuse. I hypothesize that: 1) practicing veterinarians are reluctant to report suspicions of domestic family violence directed against animals, children, or spouses for various reasons (e.g., lack of adequate training, fear of litigation, time constraints, fear that violence will escalate, belief that it is not their place to intervene, lack of contact information, fear of losing a client's business); 2) practicing veterinarians (in large and small animal practices) may not be aware that animal patients and human clients may have been abused and being unfamiliar with this diagnosis, are unfamiliar with the mechanism for reporting the abuse, especially when it involves human victims; and 3) veterinary school curricula could be modified so that veterinary students are trained to recognize human and animal abuse, thereby reducing risks to animal patients, other animals in the household, and human clients. I believe that recognition of animal and human abuse is in line with veterinarians' responsibilities to protect animal health, relieve animal suffering, and promote public health.
由于之前发生过虐待动物事件，许多向家庭暴力机构寻求帮助的家庭为当地人道协会或动物控制官员所知。这是因为宠物往往是演变成暴力的家庭纠纷的首批受害者。对家庭暴力统计数据的分析表明，兽医每年可能要治疗成千上万只受虐宠物。由于兽医可能是首个或唯一能接触到虐待家庭情况的人，因此兽医意识到宠物及其主人受虐的潜在迹象，并熟悉报告疑似虐待事件的机制非常重要。对北美31所兽医学院以及印第安纳州的一些大型和小型动物从业者样本进行了调查，以了解当前兽医课程在何种程度上使学生准备好识别动物患者和人类客户的受虐情况，以及从业者在何种程度上识别并向相关当局报告他们对虐待的怀疑。数据表明，在对虐待发生率的看法与花在教育兽医学生识别和报告虐待情况上的时间之间存在差异。我假设：1）执业兽医因各种原因（例如，缺乏充分培训、害怕诉讼、时间限制、担心暴力升级、认为干预并非他们的职责、缺乏联系信息、担心失去客户业务）而不愿报告对动物、儿童或配偶的家庭暴力怀疑；2）执业兽医（从事大型和小型动物诊疗）可能没有意识到动物患者和人类客户可能受到了虐待，并且由于不熟悉这种诊断情况，也不熟悉报告虐待的机制，尤其是当涉及人类受害者时；3）兽医学院课程可以修改，以便培训兽医学生识别对人类和动物的虐待，从而降低对动物患者、家庭中的其他动物以及人类客户的风险。我认为，识别对动物和人类的虐待符合兽医保护动物健康、减轻动物痛苦和促进公共卫生的职责。
