Featured speaker Gerald Fineman, Chief Deputy District Attorney with the Riverside,
California, District Attorney’s Office, at the Domestic Violence Summit.
Continued from page 12
Office, Public Defender’s Office, Hillsborough County Sheriff ’s Office,
Clerk’s Office, Spring of Tampa Bay, Hillsborough County Domestic
Violence Task Force, and Hillsborough County sponsored a Domestic
Violence Summit on January 19, 2018.
The featured presenter was Gerald W. Fineman, Chief Deputy District
Attorney with the District Attorney’s Office in Riverside, California. Mr.
Fineman, an expert on family violence, previously represented the
Training Institute of Strangulation Prevention, a program of the Alliance
for HOPE International.
He shared ways victims downplay their strangulation, often because of
their limited understanding of the danger in such violence. They may say,
“He didn’t really choke me; he just had me in a headlock and I couldn’t
breathe.” Or they substitute the words “choked” or “squeezed my neck”
for the word “strangled.” There was also a discussion about how
professionals in the field, such as 9-1-1 dispatchers, emergency responders,
and law enforcement officers, minimize such violence.
The impact of intimate-partner violence and domestic violence
can be both personal and professional. Unfortunately, too many of us
suffer the personal impact, as one in four women and one in seven
men have suffered intimate-partner violence. Chances are, we all
know someone who has been there. Professionally, Mr. Fineman discussed
the importance of conducting thorough investigations, raising awareness
of warning signs among medical professionals, presenting knowledgeable
experts, and presenting evidence as to visible and non-visible injury,
among other subjects.
The court is committed to eliminating domestic violence and
helping survivors heal. If you missed Mr. Fineman’s presentation and
want to learn more, visit the Training Institute on Strangulation at
stragulationtraininginstitute.com.
MAR - APR 2018
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HCBA LAWYER
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