Understanding the Impact & Risk of Strangulation

in the u.s. one in four women will experience violence from their partner or loved one at some point in their life here in Nashville 50% of victims of domestic violence said they were strangled at some point by their partner or loved one strangulation happens when there is external pressure put on your neck or chest that causes you to have trouble breathing it doesn't take a lot of pressure or strength to cause damage strangling someone requires less force than opening a can of soda strangulation is a severe and dangerous form of abuse that can lead to death very quickly you could lose consciousness and pass out within five to ten seconds you could lose control of your bladder and urinate within 15 seconds you could lose control of your bowels and defecate within 30 seconds and you could lose your life within one to three minutes however being strangled by someone's hands isn't the only way to cause this level of harm you can also be strangled other ways such as pinning you against the wall by your neck sitting on your chest putting you in a headlock or chokehold holding you underwater or covering your mouth and nose at the same time anytime someone interferes with your breathing is dangers visible or external injuries don't always show up sometimes the entries are inside your body visible injuries only show up 50% of the time and you can have dangerous and deadly side effects even if you look and feel fine some of the injuries you might be able to see include small red or purple dots on your head and face marks or bruises on your face neck chest or shoulders bloodshot eyes bleeding from your ears or nose or bruising or cuts on your mouth and lips other visible injuries include swollen lips or tongue a drooping eyelid swelling in your neck throat or tongue burst blood vessels in your eye coughing up blood or vomiting internal injuries can be harder to detect and you can still guide days or even weeks after the strangulation injuries that are internal include a cough that won't go away losing consciousness or passing out changes in your voice difficulty speaking swallowing or breathing a lump in your throat muscle spasms in your neck or throat neck pain and weakness on one side of your body other internal injuries include numbness or tingling difficulty understanding speech difficulty walking a headache that won't go away dizziness or lightheadedness changes in your vision seizures and even memory loss memory loss is a common side effect of strangulation this means you may not even remember that you are strangled you might regain consciousness and not know how you got to where you are or you might remember bits and pieces of the assault but not remembering an assault doesn't mean it didn't happen if you have experienced strangulation go to a hospital emergency room immediately even if the assault is not recent you should also document your injuries by taking photos of your visible injuries and keeping a log of any other side effects we know that this can be a scary and overwhelming time but you should know that you are not alone you can call the national domestic violence hotline from anywhere in the country at one eight hundred seven nine nine safe for help in Nashville and Davidson County please come to the Family Safety Center we're located at 610 Murfreesboro Pike and are open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. but assistance filing for an order of protection is available 24/7 you can also call us at six one five eight eight zero one one zero zero no one deserves to be hurt let us help [Music]

Channel: Metro Nashville Office of Family Safety

Views: 16,578

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Id: 79LA7v4-sNU

Length: 5min 9sec (309 seconds)

Published: Mon May 04 2020