Helping People In Crisis, By Helping Animals

A unique Cornish charity is helping people escape domestic abuse situations by arranging safe care for their pets - Abby Driver visits Refuge4Pets

- Abby Driver

Did you know there is a big link between domestic violence and animal abuse? I’m embarrassed to admit it’s not something that had even crossed my mind until I spoke with Mary Wakeham from Refuge4Pets (refuge4pets.org.uk). “If people are being abused, animals are at risk. And if animals are being abused, people are at risk,” she says.

Mary first came across the issue working as an independent domestic violence advocate for First Light, a charity supporting people in Cornwall and beyond who have been affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence. “I lost track of the number who said ‘I can’t go, I’ve got nowhere for my animals to go.’ So that means people stay in relationships,” she says.

Refuge4Pets aims to remove that barrier, by providing foster care for such animals across Cornwall and Devon, for free. And it’s working. “When you look at all of our feedback forms the main thing that people say is ‘I would have stayed; I wouldn’t have left,’” says Mary.

Research shows that one in four women and one in six men will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lives. And it leads to, on average, two women being murdered each week and 30 men per year. “It really is a massive problem. And the people that we’re helping tend to be people at real serious risk – like at risk of death,” says Mary.