The Violence Link: Domestic Violence, Coercive Control, and Animal Abuse

Event Description

On February 10 from 12:30-1:50pm, The Allard Animal Justice Club presents an important lunch and learn panel on the "Violence Link"— the intersection of domestic violence against women and animal abuse. (Food is sponsored by the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies).

The “violence link” describes the legal and evidentiary connection between intimate partner violence and abuse or threats against animals, where harm to animals is used as a tool of coercive control and a warning sign of escalating violence. Violence against or threats to harm to companion animals is frequently used as a tool of control and intimidation, creating serious barriers for women attempting to leave abusive relationships. Safety planning must therefore include protections for animals and humans. Animal abuse often goes unseen and unreported, making it essential to address this issue both as a barrier to safety and as a form of violence in its own right.

For Zoom link, email: michlin@student.ubc.ca

Panelists

Angela Marie MacDougall
Executive Director, Battered Women’s Support Services

Angela Marie MacDougall is an award‑winning community organizer, frontline worker, trainer, and leading activist with over three decades of experience advancing social justice. Since the 1990s, she has developed and delivered intersectional, anti‑oppression training for community organizations, institutions, and public audiences, emphasizing community‑based responses to gender, racial, and economic injustice. Her work has shaped empowerment‑ and advocacy‑based models addressing gender‑based violence, grounded in feminist, trauma‑informed frameworks that integrate substance use and mental wellness. A bi‑racial Black woman with roots in Vancouver’s Hogan’s Alley, her activism is shaped by lived experience. She is a founding member of Feminists Deliver and the Intersectional Feminist Justice Research and Organizing Collaborative, a long‑standing organizer with the February 14th Women’s Memorial March, and has been recognized as a Remarkable Woman by the City of Vancouver and as one of Vancouver Magazine’s most powerful people.

V. Victoria Shroff, KC
Lawyer, Shroff Animal Law
Adjunct Professor of Animal Law, Allard School of Law

V. Victoria Shroff, KC is one of Canada’s first and leading animal law lawyers and a pioneer in advancing the legal status and protection of animals. As BC’s longest‑serving animal lawyer, she has practiced law for over 25 years and was appointed King’s Counsel in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the legal profession. Victoria was named one of Canada’s “Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers” and is widely known for her landmark work shaping animal law in Canada. She was instrumental in starting Canada’s first animal law pro bono clinic at LSLAP, is the author of the textbook Canadian Animal Law, a TEDx speaker, frequent media commentator, and Founding Chair of the Canadian Animal Law Study Group. She presents on animal law locally and internationally and has taught animal law at the University of British Columbia as an adjunct professor since 2016.