Resource Library

ICCR Webinar: A Focus on IPV Sexual Violence and Strangulation presented by John Wilkinson.

Every year, 3-4 million women in the U.S. are abused by an intimate partner, and as many as 1,600 are killed by their abusers. Identifying the level of danger facing a victim is a persistent challenge. Several factors are associated with an increased risk of homicide—in particular, the co-occurrence of sexual violence and strangulation. Trauma-informed investigations and evidence-based prosecutions are essential to the identification of these co-occurring crimes, safety planning with survivors, and offender accountability.  This webinar will focus on the signs and symptoms of strangulation injury; common dynamics and prevalence of intimate partner sexual violence; and the importance of documentation, safety planning, and collaboration with advocates and medical experts. The presenter will discuss risk factors and assessment, as well as investigative and legal considerations in these cases.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) provides a resource library for police response to violence against women, which includes tools, policies, and resources to assist law enforcement in responding effectively to human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic and sexual violence by police officers, stalking, strangulation, domestic violence, and other crimes of intimate partner violence (2019).

Kelsey McKay is a nationally recognized expert on strangulation who developed a critical protocol for strangulation and domestic violence response and treatment. A former prosecutor from Travis County Texas, McKay founded McKay Training & Consulting to collaborate with leaders in fields of law enforcement in order to strengthen how communities collaborate, investigate, treat and prosecute strangulation and intimate partner cases. Her protocol - The Asphyxiation Assessment - is transforming the role of first responders in cases of crimes against women. This episode tackles the subject of strangulation – what it is, what it is not, and best practices in the fields of response, investigation, and prosecution. Content warnings for this episode include: abuse, physical and sexual violence (2020).

This data examines the prevalence and correlates of nonfatal strangulation among female survivors of IPV (2018).