Raising Awareness Through Non-Fatal Strangulation Conferences
Recently, two successful Non-Fatal Strangulation (NFS) conferences were held to raise awareness of the significant risks associated with strangulation and to strengthen professional responses across sectors.
The first conference took place on 29 October at the University of Lancashire, Preston, and was aimed at frontline practitioners. Attendees included professionals from the police, ambulance and hospital services, GPs, primary care, social workers, adult social care professionals, and strategic leads responsible for organisational policies and procedures. The event provided a valuable opportunity for professionals working with adults to deepen their understanding of non-fatal strangulation, its risks, and the importance of early identification and intervention.
The second conference was held on 9 December in Burnley and focused specifically on children and young people. This event brought together safeguarding leads and professionals working with children and young people, including representatives from the Youth Justice Service, Children’s Social Care, and health services. In total, 230 attendees participated across the two events.
Both conferences followed a full-day agenda and featured a diverse range of expert speakers, all contributing to a comprehensive exploration of non-fatal strangulation. The sessions focused on raising awareness, improving professional knowledge, and reinforcing the serious and potentially life-threatening impact of strangulation, even when there are no visible injuries.
Feedback from both events has been extremely positive, with attendees highlighting the relevance of the content and the value of shared learning across agencies.
As part of the conferences, illustrations were produced to support awareness-raising, funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office. These materials will be laminated and circulated to schools, children’s social care settings, care homes, and workplaces. They will also be used as part of wider awareness campaigns, including the 17 Days of Action for Domestic Abuse and White Ribbon events, helping to extend the impact of the conferences beyond the attendees and into the wider community. These conferences represent an important step in strengthening collective understanding and response to non-fatal strangulation, ensuring professionals are better equipped to recognise the signs, respond appropriately, and protect those at risk.
The illustrations shown below were created specifically for the Non-Fatal Strangulation conferences and are being used to support awareness-raising across schools, social care settings, care homes and workplaces as part of wider campaigns, including the 17 Days of Action for Domestic Abuse and White Ribbon.
