Animal abuse and vicarious violence: the need for a legislative change to protect domestic animals in the Principality of Andorra

Abstract

The aim of this article is to highlight the internationally recognised link between animal abuse and domestic violence, and the importance of domestic animals in the lives of women and people in general in the family environment, which in turn means that the animal can be instrumentalised by the abuser. In fact, it is not uncommon for animals to be used as instruments to harm women in a relationship where there is gender-based violence. A study of official data on gender-based and domestic violence in Andorra shows that, for the first time, cases of vicarious violence are considered, but only in relation to children. This means that it does not analyse whether there were pets in the homes and whether they were mistreated in any way. All this leads us to advocate the need for a legislative change in the Andorran criminal code, as well as in the protocols followed by the Andorran support service for victims of gender and domestic violence, to include the concept of vicarious violence inflicted on animals in the context of couple relationships.