Premium
‘Battered pets’: sexual abuse
Author(s) -
Munro H. M. C.,
Thrusfield M. V.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of small animal practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1748-5827
pISSN - 0022-4510
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-5827.2001.tb02468.x
Subject(s) - medicine , accidental , sexual abuse , child abuse , injury prevention , poison control , medical emergency , physics , acoustics
A study of non‐accidental injury in small animals in the UK, based on responses from a random sample of small animal practitioners, identified 6 per cent of the 448 reported cases as being sexual in nature. Twenty‐one cases occurred in dogs, five in cats and two in unspecified species. Reasons for suspecting sexual abuse were: the type of injury; behaviour of the owner; statements from witnesses; and admission by the perpetrator. Types of injury included vaginal and anorectal penetrative (penile and non‐penile) injury, perianal damage, and trauma to the genitals. Some injuries (such as castration) were extreme, and some were fatal. In contrast, other cases revealed no obvious damage. The type and severity of injuries were similar to those described in texts on child abuse and human forensic pathology.