Living in a home where domestic violence occurs tend to have a negative effect to its inhabitants. It is a common misconception that kids do not get affected by volatile environments. Children are very impressionable in their developing years and such surroundings and upbringing can have a lasting impact.

Andrew Campbell, the CEO and Founder of Campbell Research and Consulting joins this session to talk about domestic violence and its effects. Andrew is an expert in domestic violence and associated risks of harm for adults, children and even pets in homes where DV occurs. Through his passion for data analysis and research, he raises awareness across the country so that law enforcement, animal control, and human services agencies are able to provide effective community responses, prevention and intervention measures.

Andrew deep dives into the threats of harm for children exposed to domestic violence on this course. Some of the points he addressed in this webinar include:

• Andrew’s own experience witnessing domestic violence as a child.
• Debunking the federally reported studies that claim that domestic violence is declining by shedding light on skewed numbers brought about by issues on definition and sampling.
• The reality of domestic violence as observed in Andrew’s own study that analyzed nearly 10,000 law enforcement reports of domestic violence incidents.
• A look into the environment of violence that surrounds domestically violent homes.
  • The number of DV incidents that transpire before a report to authorities is made.
  • The period in a relationship and cohabitation when DV is most likely to occur.
  • The days of the week and the months of the year where DV incident reports are highest and its correlation to the presence of kids at home.
  • Children living in a domestically violent home – how it subjects them to the threats of physical and sexual abuse, neglect and emotional maltreatment.
  • How emotional maltreatment and toxic stress affects children, even during infancy and while in the womb.
  • The different types of stress humans experience, the toxic stress that is manifested in children who are exposed to domestic violence, and how this negatively impacts cognitive functions and brain volume.
  • Police observations of how adults and children typically behave after a DV report that exhibits how the circumstances affect the children.
  • How toxic stress robs both ends of the life span – on the kids and the adults.
• The two types of caregivers that present unique, individualized risks to the children where:
  • The violent offending caregiver directly inflicts harms or threats.
  • The non-violent victimized caregiver is emotionally drained rendering him/her unable to meet the needs of the child.
• The findings of a longitudinal study that identified the high-risk characteristics and four maltreatment groups observed in DV homes.
• The difficulties in identifying victims experienced by law enforcement due to barriers in reporting such as perpetrators isolating victims, fear of injury to pets and loved ones, children not responding truthfully due to threats, and delayed reporting.
• Verbatim examples from victims and statistics establishing the link between intimate partner violence, child abuse and animal cruelty and its associated risks.
• Effective prevention, identification, and intervention that recognizes:
  • The critical role of animal control in intervening and preventing potential domestic and child abuse.
  • Neighbors as an ally being the top report source of such incidents.
  • The need for DV shelters that accepts pets and foster programs that will not separate children from their pets so that victims can easily leave abusive partners/parents without fearing for the welfare of their pets.
  • A multi-disciplinary approach that provides trauma-informed care to victims and children from domestically violent homes.
• Questions from the webinar attendees are about:
  • The scope of Andrew’s study and how to be a part of it.
  • Violence resulting in PTSD and being drawn to destructive/violent relationships.
  • Ways to uncover history of animal abuse.
  • Corroborating emotional abuse in the courtroom.

Audience Comments

• “Andrew was very informative. He brought great information as to how children react, what comforts them, how they protect themselves and their pet. All-around very useable information.” –Kellie
• “As an EMT/FF in the past, I have responded to many DV calls, this information is eye-opening to not only signs of likely cases but also of the impact on generation after generation. …Andrew’s work shows how continued research evolves our understanding. Thank you for continuing to address this topic, I do believe it is one of the top issues impacting crime and society overall.” –Trenton
• “Great thought-provoking presentation. Never connected animal abuse and IPV before in such concrete ways.” –Paul
• “I enjoyed learning more about Domestic Violence and how it affects children as well as animals. Most of the time when you think or hear about Domestic violence, you think of adults. Most people don’t think of the children or animals within the home or the immediate area and how these types of situations can effect them. I believe that this was a great webinar today. Thank you so much!” –Michelle
• “I found it helpful and informative learning about the patterns of abuse. I found it interesting that animals are often used as pawns as well as children in a lot of DV cases.” –Denise
• “I have heard Andrew speak on this topic multiple times; I always learn something new!” –Hanna

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This webinar has been certified by the National Animal Care & Control Association and is approved for 1 Continuing Education Unit. Please refer to your NACA membership portal for current CEU submission process. Current NACA Members who attend the live presentation or watch the recording will be able to download a jointly issued attendance certificate that includes the National Animal Care & Control Association logo. Visit the NACA training page for a complete list of future trainings.