Pet owners Nikitta Redman, Steven and Jessica Horner and their dogs Lonnie, Bubblegum and Charlie will join WWHC president Vickie Burkinshaw at the Riverside Precinct for the pet parade this Sunday. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
The Wagga Wagga Women’s Health Centre is inviting the community’s dogs to participate in a parade this Sunday at the Riverside Precinct standing against domestic violence.
As part of the 16 Days of Activism against Domestic Violence, local dogs will wear purple bow ties and walk in the parade to raise awareness of how dogs and pets can be used in coercive control.
According to the Wagga Wagga Women’s Health Centre (WWHC), more than 15 per cent of dogs in shelters are abandoned from violent homes.
WWHC president Vicki Burkinshaw said pets were often used as pawns to keep victims of domestic violence in abusive relationships, and were often not allowed to be taken into refuges.
“We’re shining a light on family and domestic violence and the use of pets in coercive control, and the fact that pets are used in a number of different ways,” she said.
“They’re used to trick women into staying. Pets can’t be taken into women’s shelters, and pets are sometimes tortured in family and domestic violence situations, which is very horrific for the women and children who are escaping there.
“We just wanted to use the cute puppy dog factor to shine a light on the fact that there is a really sinister area to our community where people are using pets to coercively control women into situations where they are forced to stay in domestic violence.”
In addition to the pet parade, the WWHC will also be raising money for its primary prevention initiatives after having $600,000 cut by the NSW Government earlier this year.
Pet owner and supporter of the WWHC, Jessica Horner, said it was important for the community to continue supporting the Wagga Women’s Health Centre due to the fact Wagga had one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the country.
“I think domestic violence is insidious, and often we take for granted the ways in which people can use coercive control,” she said.
“So drawing attention to maybe some of the ways that we’re less aware of is really important. The women’s health centre needs funding so badly and so it’s just about drawing attention to the fact that, unfortunately, animals are weaponised for coercive control, and that is not OK.
“To think about people using pets just made me sick. I think about how connected I am to my animals, and how hard it would be to escape a situation where you’re experiencing violence and have to make the decision between your safety and your pet’s safety.
“That would be devastating for so many people.”
The parade will take place this Sunday 7 December at 11 am at the Wagga Riverside Precinct.
