JENKS – The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Center for Victim Services (CVS) is doing its Strangulation Training with the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention. This will be a two-day session on April 6-7 and 8-9. There will also be a judicial session held on April 10. These will be located at the Suite Shots in Jenks. These sessions will be able to help identify, investigate, and prosecute domestic violence strangulation cases.
Those attending are judges, court personnel, and court staff, all of whom are accompanied by the Judge. As well as any professional handling sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, or human trafficking, such as law enforcement, prosecutors, medical providers, paramedics, advocates, Psychologists and Civil Legal Attorneys.
MCN CVS Training Coordinator Marline Mattox feels great that her program provides this type of training. She was a social worker for 30 years before coming to CVS. She has done this training herself and thinks it is one of the best trainings she has ever attended.
The training sessions began because domestic violence strangulations have many repercussions. MCN CVS is trying to target every audience that deals with domestic violence as much as they can. This program aims to provide more information and knowledge about strangulation.
Mattox stated that a victim can be strangled and then later on die years later because of the damage done to the arteries in their neck. Without proper care and the proper imaging scans when it does occur, no one can really see the damage it has caused.
“People who strangle, there’s so much information. People that strangle, they’re very dangerous people. It creates a higher level of risk for the individual, for the victim if they have been strangled. So there’s been a huge movement to get this training out there with the effects of what strangulation does,” Mattox said.
According to the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, “One in four women will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Of women at high risk, up to 68% will experience near-fatal strangulation by their partner. 97% are strangled manually (with hands). 38% report losing consciousness. 35% are strangled during sexual assault or abuse. 70% believe they were going to die. Homicide likelihood increases by 750% for victims who have been previously strangled, compared to victims who have never been strangled.”
Mattox explained that there are many ways to be strangled, such as by the forearm, pressed into the bed, pressed against an object with someone’s hand, or someone’s body, and similar actions.
“We know that a lot of times when we’re speaking with victims, it’s about how we speak with the victim and what we say. When we say, ‘have you been strangled?’ they say ‘no I wasn’t strangled’, when in fact they were because we don’t understand the different ways people are strangled,” Mattox said.
She also points out that without proper terminology when speaking to a victim, they might not understand they have been strangled, which can later affect the case.
“If you’re not using the right words or words that they can use and understand, then you’re having a difficulty because you don’t know if your victim has been injured or not. So we’re going to bring that piece into it,” Mattox said.
The training will also inform participants about other signs of strangulation. Mattox explained that there are times when no external marks are visible, but petechiae may appear in the throat.
When hidden injuries go unnoticed, it can have long-term health consequences. According to the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, “The lack of external injuries and the lack of medical training among domestic violence professionals have led to the minimization of this type of violence, exposing victims to potential serious health consequences, further violence, and even death.”
“Not only has strangulation been overlooked in the medical literature, but many states still do not adequately address this violence in their criminal statutes, policies, or responses.”
During the training, Casey Gwinn, Gael Strack, and Joe Bianco from the Alliance for Hope International’s Strangulation Prevention program will speak to the individuals. “They have been working in this field for many years, trying to bring it to the forefront, and they’ve changed a lot of lives,” Mattox said.
Classes are currently close to capacity; however, MCN CVS does open this to the entire community living within the Nation so that everyone can have this information. For those unable to attend, CVS is planning a fall training session.
Mattox believes that these sessions will help them in the long run. During the judicial training, for judges and anyone who accompanies them, MCN CVS aims to help the judicial system better understand strangulation and its ramifications. For example, if they are in the courtroom, they’ll have a deeper insight into how those cases are assessed, Mattox explained.
“It provides education out here on our reservation that we may not have at all. It helps us create a movement within the Center for Victim Services to have that information out there, keep it in the forefront of people’s minds. Let them know that domestic violence does happen, we need to address it immediately. If our victims have been hurt, then we are going to do what we can to get them the help they need or give them the choices to receive the help they want,” Mattox said.
For information about the session, you can contact MCN CVS at 918-732-7979
