What Advocates Working in the Frontlines Need to Know About Strangulation
- OVW Approved?
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Yes
- Description
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Please join us for a webinar on July 1, 2026 from 10am to 11:30am PST on What Advocates need to know about Non-Fatal Strangulation. This webinar will have a special emphasis for advocates working in the field whether in a shelter, in the courtroom, a domestic violence response team and/or a hotline.
We understand and appreciate how community and government based advocates often have limited time with a survivor, especially advocates working in shelters and answering the hotline. This webinar is designed to provide an overview of what every advocate needs to know about non-fatal strangulation and prioritizes rapid identification, trauma-informed questions, safety planning and the duty to warn.
Our presenters will briefly cover each of the following sections:
- Survivor Perspective – What victims need from you?
- Context – The Rage of Stranglers
- National Strangulation Laws
- Risk of Lethality
- Use of Risk Assessment Tools
- Medical – Terminology, Anatomy, Physiology, Signs and Symptoms & Health Consequences
- The Five Myths of Strangulation
- Identification – what questions to ask
- How to Respond
- The Duty to Warn
- Conducting an Intake
- Tips for Documentation
- Safety Planning
- Utilizing the “Advocacy Toolkit”
- Questions
For Example: If a survivor mentions a physical fight, the partner “putting hands on them,” or if their voice sounds hoarse, clearing their throat frequently, or appears to have trouble catching their breath, what could an advocate say?
Course Objectives
- Identify: Recognize the hidden physical and behavioral signs of non-fatal strangulation and suffocation when visible injuries are absent.
- Ask: Utilize objective, trauma-informed scripting to screen for near-fatal attacks during crisis calls and intakes.
- Protect: Implement immediate medical safety protocols and safety planning tailored to high-lethality risks.