STATEMENT: on Senate Bill 1562 A to Increase Strangulation to a Felony

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, February 26, 2018
CONTACT: Melissa Erlbaum, (503) 557-5810, melissae@cwsor.org

Statement of Melissa Erlbaum, Executive Director at Clackamas Women’s Services, on SB 1562 A

“We are incredibly moved by the powerful testimony offered today before the House Committee on Judiciary in support of SB 1562 A to update and expand the definition of strangulation and to increase the crime to a felony within the context of domestic violence cases. The diversity of voices we heard today, which included prosecutors, legislators, law enforcement, victims’ advocates, and survivors, is indicative of just how many lives the crime of strangulation impacts and threatens if we fail to respond adequately.

“Near or nonfatal strangulation is common within domestic violence cases. People who are abusive use strangulation to demonstrate they have the power to kill their partners at any moment without the use of weapons. It is an incredibly effective way of controlling whether their partner leaves or seeks safety in the community. Especially when committed through pressure applied to the chest, strangulation can leave few visible marks and thus remains an invisible manipulative tool that protects people who are abusive from immediate arrest by law enforcement.

“The act of strangulation has often been a predictor of additional violence and lethality.  A person who strangles their partner is 7 times more likely to kill that partner in the future if appropriate intervention is not taken or if the offender is not held accountable.  Fatal and nonfatal strangulation are also predictive of other forms of violence including mass shootings.

“This legislation is critical to protecting survivors and the larger community from further harm and livelong impacts of the inevitable terror they experience after being strangled. Individuals who commit strangulation are dangerous to survivors and our communities and without this violence being properly defined and or addressed, victims are left vulnerable to increased lethality. We strongly urge this legislation move forward before more lives are threatened by this terrible act of violence.

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