Deborah-Anne Walsh

Dr. Deborah-Anne Walsh is an Honorary Lecturer and Adjunct Fellow in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Queensland, within the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences. She serves as Program Lead for the Bachelor of Human Services. Walsh holds a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), Master of Social Work (MSW), PhD, and Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (Grad Cert HEd). Her career includes serving as a Lecturer in the same school, where she contributes to social work education and research as a domestic and family violence specialist practitioner and researcher. She developed one of Australia's first risk assessment frameworks for use in domestic violence practice.

Walsh's research specializations center on domestic and family violence, including intersections with companion animal welfare, the role of veterinarians in domestic violence cases, ethical issues in media broadcasts of animal cruelty, human-animal abuse linkages, mental health issues for professionals working with animal abuse, intimate partner violence impacts on companion animals, public responses to media coverage of animal cruelty, and violence against women during pregnancy. Key publications include: 'They don't help, they hinder': Intersections between domestic and family violence specialist services and child protection services (2020, co-authored with Sharon Turner); “The Animals are All I Have”: Domestic Violence, Companion Animals, and Veterinarians (2017); Ethical Issues Concerning the Public Viewing of Media Broadcasts of Animal Cruelty (2015); Human/Animal abuse (2013); Mental health issues of working with animal abuse (2013); Public Response to Media Coverage of Animal Cruelty (2012); Intimate partner violence and companion animal welfare (2012); The Hidden Experience of Violence during Pregnancy: A Study of 400 Pregnant Australian Women (2008); and Violence against women during pregnancy: Issues, risks and intervention (2005). Her work has garnered 185 citations, influencing social work practice by highlighting connections between domestic violence, animal welfare, and intervention strategies.