TOLEDO, Ohio — October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and victim advocates in Ohio are working to pass a law that would help protect survivors of strangulation.
Ohio is currently the only state that does not have a strangulation law, meaning it is only a misdemeanor charge for abusers who are caught. The potential of Ohio getting a strangulation law is up in the air, as it sits waiting to make its way through the Ohio Senate.
House Bill 3, also known as Aisha's Law, would make strangulation a felony in the state of Ohio, just like it is in all other 49 states.
"I don't have an answer as to why we're still fighting this battle," said Todd Curtis, Senior Investigator at the Wood County Prosecutors Office.
Domestic violence victim advocates say they've been waiting for this law to pass for a long time, hoping to prevent dangerous and potentially deadly situations for victims of domestic violence.
"As advocates in the community we're really looking for another mechanism to hold offenders accountable, particularly offenders who use strangulation, that really addresses the seriousness of the crime," said Kathy Mull, Director of the Cocoon Shelter in Bowling Green.
Curtis has more than three decades of law enforcement experience, specifically when it comes to domestic violence cases. Curtis says in the majority of domestic violence homicides he has handled over the past 30 years, strangulation was almost always a pre-cursor to the homicide.
"So it's a tell tale sign that things have gotten violent, that the level of violence has increased, and that person is in serious jeopardy of losing their life. The next event that's going to happen is an attempted murder or murder," said Curtis.
So why doesn't Ohio have this law already? State legislators have tried to bring it across the finish line before but have not been able to get it passed in time. And if lawmakers cannot get it through the Ohio Senate before the end of this year, the process will start over once again, something domestic violence shelters don't want to see.
"We've seen increased levels of violence being used in domestic violence relationships. There are more survivors who are reporting increased physical assaults and that includes strangulation!" said Mull.
WTOL 11 reached out to local Ohio senators to see how they plan to handle this issue. Senator Theresa Gavarone provided the following statement:
"As a woman and the mother of two daughters, curbing domestic violence has been a priority of mine— even before becoming a legislator— since my early days of helping victims as an attorney.
Tackling this issue has been such a priority for me that some of my proudest moments as a legislator include my work to secure hundreds of thousands in Capital Budget dollars for organizations like the Cocoon Shelter in Bowling Green and the YWCA in Lucas County. They are doing critical work for our communities!
In regards to House Bill 3 and legislation that has been introduced in the past to address this issue, I have always been a strong supporter and will continue to push for this legislation to come up for full Senate consideration during the post-election legislative session."
-Senator Theresa Gavarone, (R) Bowling Green
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