September was a very busy month for all The Links Group team, and it was an excellent opportunity to continue to raise awareness of ‘the link’ amongst all professionals who might encounter it in the course of their work.
We were delighted when the National Association of Veterinary Physiotherapists added the Hestia Safe Spaces widget to their website in February this year, joining a number of professional organisations from the animal welfare and veterinary fields. The Safe Spaces widget offers a safe, free, quick-escape and untraceable portal to local, national and regional sources of support for those experiencing domestic abuse. Having this portal on the NAVP website could provide an essential resource to members and clients accessing the pages, and help to raise awareness for anyone show spots the distinctive turquoise logo.
Veterinary physiotherapists often develop a longer-term, care-giving relationship with animals and their people. Due to the nature of their work, they often have repeated and regular visits, may work in the animal’s home environment, and usually build up a trusting relationship with the owners. This gives veterinary physiotherapists an important opportunity to recognise signs of abuse of people and/or their animals, and owners may feel able to confide in their veterinary physiotherapists as a result. A flip side of the nature of peripatetic and sole working is that veterinary physiotherapists may be at increased risk of physical or emotional harm, with few support systems in place, particularly if self-employed.
Recognising this, the team at NAVP invited Links Group Chair Paula Boyden to speak and exhibit at their NAVP Conference 2025, held in Hinckley on 26th September. Paula’s presentation, “The link between abuse of animals and abuse of people” was well attended during a busy conference with two streams, and she had had some excellent and insightful conversations with delegates during the exhibition.
Thank you to the team at NAVP for acknowledging the importance of recognising and acting on ‘the link’, and we wish them well for the launch of their new website this month. Check back there soon to see our collaborative blog post on the role of the veterinary physiotherapist in Protecting Animals, Protecting People and the Safe Spaces scheme!
