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Nursing Professor Looks for Links Between Domestic Violence, Strangulation and Damage to the Brain

UVA School of Nursing

The National Domestic Violence Hotline reports a decrease in calls over the holidays, but when January rolls around those numbers rise again.  

In many cases, women report being choked – an assault that may not look as serious as it is.

If you know about crime from TV, you might think strangulation leaves handprints on the neck.  In fact, UVA nursing professor Kathryn Laughon says it may not be that obvious.

“The brain has reduced oxygen, and you start getting these little burst capillaries, and you see that on the face and the neck.  We’re also getting small micro-hemorrhages in the brain," Laughon notes, "so there’s potential traumatic brain injury going on.”

And in cases of domestic violence, where 30 to 50% of women experience strangulation, brain injuries may occur repeatedly, putting victims at increased risk for stroke and death.  That’s because men who choke women are more likely to kill. “They are about 7 times more likely to go on to later murder their partners,” Laughon says.

And their partners may not be the only ones in danger. Men who use this form of assault are also more likely to kill anyone who tries to intervene.

Credit UVA School of Nursing
Kathryn Laughon

For too long, Laughon says, police and prosecutors have failed to take choking seriously. “Historically the problem is that it has been very difficult to prosecute strangulation as seriously as it ought to be because for the felony assault statutes we need serious bodily harm,”  Laughon says. And while strangulation can do serious damage to the brain, the injury is not always evident, and long-term risk is not always considered.

That’s why Laughon is working to educate police about strangulation and, with a grant from the National Institute for Justice, she plans to study large numbers of women who’ve been strangled, to see if repeated attacks do long-term functional damage to the brain. 

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Sandy Hausman is Radio IQ's Charlottesville Bureau Chief
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