BUFFALO, N.Y. — Local domestic violence advocates are sounding the alarm about some staggering statistics in our community. It's gotten so bad, the Family Justice Center is asking the county to declare domestic violence as a public health crisis. They wants victims to know help is available, and they have a state-of-the-art piece of equipment to empower them.
"He strangled me, beat me, stabbed me five times," said Ava Thomas, who is a domestic violence survivor, and now as Director of Operations at the Family Justice Center she helps to empower other victims of domestic violence.
"We have all the services and supports needed right at our fingertips to help someone," she said.
FJC reporting shows the number of domestic violence cases is going down, but the severity of the violence is getting worse.
"Over 60 percent of the people we saw in 2023 had the highest category for close to lethality. They were in a high risk category. None of them knew that that was actually the case," said CEO of the FJC, Catharine Miles-Kania.
"In 2021, we had 176 reported strangulations that came through the Family Justice Center. In 2023, we closed out at close to 500," she said.
Sometimes strangulation marks aren't visible to the naked eye, making it hard for law enforcement or the victims themselves to take it seriously. But the FJC has a rare, state of the art SDFI camera with an inverted lens used by a nurse in the Forensic Medical Unit that can detect injuries under the skin.
Miles-Kania said the camera is especially helpful in cases where the victim has a darker skin tone and bruises are even harder to detect.
"It's also extremely empowering for our clients and validating for them to be able t look at what has happened to them and know it's not just in their head. It's not downplayed. 'This is very serious and something did happen to me,'" said Thomas.
Miles-Kania called the camera a game changer and added that people often minimize strangulation.
"They don't understand the level of severity that accompanies it. A one time strangulation increases the likelihood of homicide by 750 percent. That is a staggering, unacceptable statistic that we have to be paying attention to," she said.
They want their agency to work closely with police, prosecutors and health officials to address strangulations and domestic violence collaboratively.
"We want to call attention to the fact that a I think domestic violence is a public health crisis," said Miles-Kania.
The hope is bringing attention to the problem will help to save lives.
"One of the most important things I think, for everyone to know is that you can have something so horrific happened to you, but you absolutely can survive it and you can go on to live a really beautiful, wonderful life," said Thomas.
The FJC also wants people, and especially law enforcement on the scene, to know there is a difference between strangulation and choking. Strangulation is defined by New York State as the blocking of normal breathing or blood circulation of another person by using hands, arms, legs, an object or in any other way.
STRANGULATION:
- Pressure (compression) applied to the outside of the neck
- Pressure restricts blood and air getting to and from the brain.
- Usually intentional (done by someone
to someone) - Potential serious physical injury or death, even after the external pressure end
CHOKING:
- Airway blocked (obstructed from the inside of the neck).
- Food or other foreign object(s) partly or entirely block the windpipe (trachea).
- Usually accidental (generally while eating).
- Minimal potential for long-term physical injury after the blockage is removed.
If you or someone you know needs help or wants more information about the Family Justice Center, call the FJC SafeLine at the number on your screen - 716-558-SAFE (7233).
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