Strangulation Resources

Below are a list of strangulation resources for domestic violence professionals written by or with contributions from Gael Strack and/or Casey Gwinn, or from other notable professionals. Not all of the resources listed below are free for public use; some require purchase to view the full article.
	Strangulation in Intimate Partner Violence Intimate Partner Violence: A Health-Based Perspective © 2009 by Connie Mitchell Strangulation, a common form of intimate partner violence (IPV) assault, is one of three major types of intentionally inflicted neck trauma: blunt impact trauma, penetrating injuries, and strangulation. Strangulation, like the other two forms of neck trauma, can result in laryngotracheal injuries, digestive tract injuries, vascular injuries, and neurologic insult... (Read more) Ellen Taliaferro, M.D., Dean Hawley, M.D., George McClane, M.D., and Gael Strack, J.D.

	Non-Fatal Strangulation Is an Important Risk Factor for Homicide of Women Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2008, 35.3 The purpose of this study was to examine non-fatal strangulation by an intimate partner as a risk factor for major assault, or attempted or completed homicide of women. A case control design was used to describe non-fatal strangulation among complete homicides and attempted homicides (n=506) and abused controls (n=427). Interviews of proxy respondents and survivors of attempted homicides were compared with data from abused controls. Data were derived using the Danger Assessment... (Read more) Nancy Glass, Ph.D., M.Ph., R.N., Kathryn Laughon, Ph.D., R.N., Jacquelyn Campbell, Ph.D., R.N., Carolyn Rebecca Block, Ph.D., Ginger Hanson, M.S., Phyllis W. Sharps, Ph.D., R.N., and Ellen Taliaferro, M.D., FACEP

	Your Patient. My Client. Her Safety: A Physician's Guide to Avoiding the Courtroom While Helping Victims of Domestic Violence DePaul Journal of Health Care Law, Symposium 2007, 11.1 Because victims will sometimes seek help from the medical community first, physicians need a basic overview of the law, legal issues, and understanding of victim rights and resources. Alternatively, attorneys need a basic overview of medical issues and understanding of domestic violence injuries. Victims need support and referrals from their physicians... (Read more) Gael Strack, J.D. and Hon. Eugene Hyman

	No Place for a Smile: Domestic Violence Journal of the California Dental Association, May 2004, 32.5 Because dentists routinely assess a patient’s head, neck and mouth, they have a unique and excellent opportunity to recognize whether or not a patient is being abused. This article seeks to enlist the collaboration of the dental community in the effort to prevent domestic/intimate partner violence and provide more information about the signs and symptoms of domestic violence injuries, including strangulation... (Read more) Casey Gwinn, JD; George E. McClane, MD; Kathleen A. Shanel-Hogan, DDS, MA; and Gael B. Strack, JD

	Getting All Choked Up (Part I)* Training Wheel, Las Vegas Metro PD, Oct. - Dec. 2001 The lack of physical evidence caused the criminal justice system to treat many "choking" cases as minor accidents, much like a slap on the face where only redness may appear. We set ourselves on a course to find out as much as we could about strangulation and how to improve our response. Below we will discuss the results of our study of misdemeanor strangulation cases, the medical perspective of strangulation cases, tips on how to improve the documentation, investigation, and prosecution of attempted strangulation cases... Gael B. Strack, J.D. and George McClane, M.D. *If you are interested in obtaining a copy of this article, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

	Walking and Talking Victims of Strangulation. Is There a New Epidemic? A Commentary. Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2001, 21.3 This issue of JEM presents five articles addressing the issue of manual strangulation in surviving victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). These landmark articles reveal to the medical community what the social services and advocate community has known for a long time: strangulation, or throttling, is a common means of domestic violence inflicted upon victims by their perpetrators... (Read more) Ellen Taliaferro, M.D., FACEP, Trevor Mills, M.D., and Sharon Walker, R.N., MPH, Ph.D.

	Survey Results of Women Who Have Been Strangled While in an Abusive Relationship Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2001, 21.3 Few studies attempt to examine individual methods of domestic abuse. The objectives of this study are to evaluate strangulation as a method of domestic violence abuse: to determine the incidence of strangulation occurrance within the cycle of domestic violence, the subjective medical symptoms experienced by victims of intimate partner strangulation, and the elective utilization of health care following a strangulation incident... (Read more) Lee Wilbur, M.D., Michelle Higley, M.D., Jason Hatfield, M.D., Zita Surprenant, M.D., MPH, Ellen Taliaferro, M.D., Donald J. Smith, Jr., Ph.D., and Anthony Paolo, Ph.D.

	A Review of 300 Attempted Strangulation Cases, Part I: Criminal Legal Issues Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2001, 21.3 Three hundred strangulation cases, submitted for misdemeanor prosecution to the San Diego City Attorney's Office, were evaluated to determine the signs and symptoms of attempted strangulation that could be used to corroborate the victim's allegation of being "choked" for purposes of prosecution. The study reveals that a lack of training may have caused police and prosecutors to overlook symptoms of strangulation or to rely too heavily on the visible signs of strangulation. Because most victims of strangulation had no visible injuries or their injuries were too minor to photograph, opportunities for higher level criminal prosecution were missed... (Read more) Gael B. Strack, J.D., George E. McClane, M.D., and Dean Hawley, M.D.

	A Review of 300 Attempted Strangulation Cases, Part II: Clinical Evaluation of the Surviving Victim Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2001, 21.3 Medical literature describing victims who survive strangulation is scant. The majority of articles on strangulation are found in the forensic literature, describing the post-mortem findings on autopsy. This article presents a suggested protocol for the evaluation and treatment of the surviving victim of strangulation, based upon a review of the available literature. It also corroborates the findings of Strack et al., in the study by the San Diego City Attorney's Office, described in Part I of this series... (Read more) George E. McClane, M.D., Gael B. Strack, J.D., and Dean Hawley, M.D.

	A Review of 300 Attempted Strangulation Cases, Part III: Injuries in Fatal Cases Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2001, 21.3 A review of 300 cases of alleged strangulation assault, submitted for misdemeanor prosecution by the San Diego City Attorney's Office, led to a search for medical evidence that would be useful to prosecute these cases (see Strack et al. in this issue of the Journal). The injuries identified in these non-fatal cases are similar to injuries found in fatal domestic violence strangulation assaults. This article reviews the injuries recognizable at autopsy in cases of strangulation in domestic violence victims... (Read more) Dean A. Hawley, M.D., George E. McClane, M.D., and Gael B. Strack, J.D.

	Frequency and Relationship of Reported Symptomology in Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: The Effect of Multiple Strangulation Attacks Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2001, 21.3 The objective of this study is to examine the correlation between the number of times a victim of intimate partner violence (IPV) has been strangled and symptom development subsequent to the attacks. One hundred and one female subjects responded to a series of questions regarding the history and characteristics of the strangulation and the development of specific medical symptoms. Multiple strangulation victims, individuals who had experienced more than one strangulation attack, on separate occasions, by the same abuser, reported neck and throat injuries, neurologic disorders, and psychological disorders with increased frequency... (Read more) Donald J. Smith, Jr., Ph.D., Trevor Mills, M.D., and Ellen H. Taliaferro, M.D.

	On the Edge of Homicide: Strangulation as a Prelude Criminal Justice, Volume 26, Number 3, Fall 2011 American Bar Association Gael B. Strack, J.D. and Casey Gwinn, J.D.


	California Senate Bill No. 430 An act to amend Section 273.5 of the Penal Code, relating to strangulation


	Why Strangulation Should be a Felony Casey Gwinn, J.D. and Gael Strack, J.D.


	Documentation Chart for Attempted Strangulation Cases

	Strangulation Brochure for Victims

	Strangulation Brochure for CA Law Enforcement Det. Mike Agnew (Ret.) and Candace Heisler, JD

	Strangulation Training DVD Information