From a young age, Maya Gupta wanted to pursue practical work that could change the world. She now holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and is the chair of the Animal Human Interaction Committee for the American Psychological Association, vice-chair for the Cobb County Domestic Violence Task Force, and a board member for the Georgia Coalition against Domestic Violence.
Animal abuse is often used to silence victims of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and neglect. While pursuing graduate study, Maya saw a poster for a domestic violence crisis line in a subway that highlighted that "threats to pets" could be a way of controlling human victims. For her, it was a "light-bulb moment." As a child, when Maya's classmates had harmed animals their actions were dismissed with an attitude that it was "just how boys are." Later, that attitude resounded in records of murderers who also abused animals. She received some dismissiveness to her own research. "Animals?" people said, scratching their heads. "But psychology is about people!" Still, Maya recognized similar patterns between the abuse of animals and of people—such as the use of violence to demand submission or as a response to a perceived emotional slight. Professionals refer to this connection as "The Link."
Listen to more about how Maya made the connections between animal and human abuse.
This link points to a dire need for the services offered by Ahimsa House—such as emergency boarding, foster care, veterinary attention, legal advocacy, crisis intervention, and prosecution (ahimsa is the Sanskrit word for "nonviolence"). "If people care about improving safety and well-being for human victims and improving offender accountability, they need to pay attention this connection," Maya says.
