Warning: contains graphic content.
Georgina McGrath says she still has to sleep some nights with the windows open, and the cold air in her lungs reminds her she is far from the man who used to strangle her. On those nights, she said, she can still feel his hands on her neck.
Although the Newfoundland and Labrador woman has been a strong advocate for survivors of intimate partner violence in the decade since her ex-partner last squeezed her throat, her voice still breaks when she talks about it.
“There is a lot of fear,” he said in an interview. “You’re just waiting for them to finish this, you can feel like you’re falling… you can feel like you’re running out.”
The 54-year-old businesswoman from Labrador City joins experts across the country who say police officers, judges and lawyers need specialized training on strangulation in intimate partner violence cases.
Amanda McCormick, associate professor of criminology at the University of the Fraser Valley, says strangulation is a key warning sign that someone is at much higher risk of being killed by their intimate partner.
“The thing about strangulation is that it is quite hidden: many abusers use it as a form of power and control, but often it doesn’t leave any visible wounds,” McCormick said in a recent interview, adding: “It’s one of the “best predictors of homicide or feminicide.”
The federal government updated the Criminal Code in 2019 to add strangulation to the definition of assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm. The change means domestic abusers can now be charged specifically with assault by strangulation.
However, McCormick said without proper training on the crime, it may not be used correctly. Strangulation does not always leave marks on the victim’s neck, so police, prosecutors, and even health care workers need to know this to ask about it. And they must be able to recognize possible signs, such as the victim having a cough or a sore throat.
“If they don’t know how to investigate and document a strangulation, they will recommend a lesser assault,” he said.
He also noted that the change in the Penal Code came just before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routines around the world, and there may not be much awareness in the justice system that assault by strangulation is now a defined crime.
Recognizing strangulation, or knowing how to detect it, can be a matter of life and death. McCormick pointed to a 2008 National Library of Medicine study showing that someone in an abusive partner is more than seven times more likely to be killed by their partner if that partner has strangled them in the past.
There are other health risks that are not well understood, McCormick added. Being strangled increases the victim’s chances of suffering a stroke or developing brain injuries or mental health problems from lack of oxygen, she said.
McCormick’s latest work looks at the sentences judges are handing down for assault by strangulation, which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. So far, she has found that offenders largely receive light sentences, despite the serious risk they pose to their partners.
“So there is complete discord here,” he said. “Police need training. Lawyers need training. Judges need training. Health professionals, for the most part, need training.”
Last month, the California-based Strangulation Prevention Training Institute held a two-day training session in Ottawa for police officers, medical workers, military personnel and others who work with victims. “The most dangerous domestic violence offenders strangle their victims,” institute co-founder Casey Gwinn said in a news release issued by Ottawa police.
McGrath, who now lives in rural Newfoundland, testified April 11 before a Senate committee studying a bill to establish a national strategy for the prevention of intimate partner violence. She hopes the strategy will include training throughout the justice system on intimate partner violence and the risks and warning signs posed by strangulation.
McGrath said she would like to see special courts established to deal with intimate partner violence cases, where judges and lawyers would be trained on the issues involved and better equipped to make decisions that protect the victim from further harm. He would also like to see governments make it mandatory for health workers to report cases of strangulation in domestic cases to police, just as they must do when there is evidence of a stabbing or shooting.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Justice said Friday it will study that policy.
However, McCormick is concerned that victims will be more afraid to seek medical help for strangulation if they know the police will be involved. “These women need to see a doctor,” McCormick said. “If they are deterred from doing so, it poses significant risks to their life and health.”