Family Justice Center Alliance
U.S. Department of Justice funds National Strangulation Training Institute
In October, we were honored to receive a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women this fall, to host the National Strangulation Training Institute – a resource training and think tank for intimate partner violence professionals across the United States. The new two year federal grant will help the Alliance develop an on-line directory of national trainers and experts on strangulation, develop a mailing list for national policy makers, trainers, and legal organizations, provide proactive basic and advanced strangulation training to OVW grantees and OVW-funded developing and existing Family Justice Centers and others types of multi-agency Centers for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The Strangulation Training Institute will also provide same day telephone (toll-free national number) and email technical assistance to all OVW-funded grantees, host ad hoc workgroups on emerging issues, host a national resource website (www.familyjusticecenter.com), host an on-line password-protected Strangulation Resource Library, host strangulation training webinars (audio) and/or webcasts (video), host a strangulation track at the annual FJC Conference, host annual “Train the Trainers” and “Develop Your Strangulation Expert” courses in San Diego, and provide targeted on-site basic strangulation training (as approved by OVW) to OVW grantees. This grant will allow us to take our research and work over the last fifteen years to a whole new level in educating professionals about the lethal nature of strangulation in intimate partner violence situations. But more importantly, it will allow us to help professionals work with surviving victims of strangulation before they end up being killed in subsequent attacks by their husbands and boyfriends. Most domestic violence offenders who strangle their partners want them to know they can kill them so they will live with the knowledge of their partner’s lethality day and night. But the abuser does not want to kill them or cause great bodily injury. Now, we can help hold these violent abusers accountable before they kill. Stay tuned for more information as the Strangulation Training Institute begins to provide resources and services to professionals across the country in 2012!