For Professionals
A new offence of strangulation/suffocation came into force in New Zealand on the 3rd December 2018 to reflect that strangulation/suffocation is one of the most lethal forms of family violence. Strangulation/suffocation can have significant long and short term psychological and physical impacts. Victims of non-fatal strangulation/strangulation (NFSS) are at a significantly higher risk to serious injury or death when perpetrated by an intimate partner or former intimate partner.
The Ministry of Health has contracted MEDSAC to design and develop a NFSS education and accreditation programme to enable the provision of expert medical forensic assessments of NFSS and expert medico-legal opinions to inform the patients/victims, the NZ Police, and legal counsel engaged in litigation activities resulting from NFSS incidents.