Resource Library

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 paper details evaluation techniques for nurses and doctors involved with non-fatal strangulation cases (2016).

This article discusses the risks and concerns associated with non-fatal strangulation, as well as the legal responses to strangulation by the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

The prejudiced norm theory specifies the social-psychological processes by which exposure to disparagement humor uniquely affects the tolerance of discrimination against members of groups targeted by the humor. The authors in this study ose that a norm of tolerance of discrimination implied by disparagement humor functions as a source of self-regulation for people high in prejudice (2004).

This research article examines non-fatal strangulation as a risk factor for major assault or homicide of women, with results showing an increased risk for both assault and homicide if the woman experienced non-fatal strangulation previously (2008).

This document provides first responders with tools for detection and documentation in non-fatal strangulation cases (2016).

This survey was designed to determine what causes victims to recant in non-fatal domestic assault by strangulation cases, and how criminal conviction can be secured in the context of strangulation without pressuring the victim to testify (2016).

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

Few studies have examined the influence of neighborhood context on intimate partner femicide (IPF). In this study, the authors examine the role for neighborhood-level factors in differentiating urban and rural IPFs in Wisconsin (2013).

This document examines the importance of collaboration between members of academia and service agencies in order to effectively combat and respond to domestic and sexual violence. The authors provide suggestions and methods of how to create positive, collaborative relationships between academicians and service providers (March 2011).

The authors uncover the literature on the epidemiology of nonfatal strangulation by an intimate partner (2014).