The Darker the Skin, the Greater the Disparity? Why a Reliance on Visible Injuries Fosters Health, Legal, and Racial Disparities in Domestic Violence Complaints Involving Strangulation.

This article examines how reliance on visible injuries in domestic violence (DV) complaints involving nonfatal strangulation (NFS) contributes to health, legal, and racial disparities, particularly disadvantaging survivors with darker skin tones. Analyzing 133 family violence cases documented with a standardized strangulation assessment by responding officers, the study found that officers were significantly less likely to identify visible injuries on Black survivors' necks, chins, and torsos compared to White/Asian survivors, despite similar reporting of symptoms like breathing difficulties. The findings highlight that symptoms of disrupted airflow are more commonly identified than signs of impaired blood circulation, and that specialized officer training improves recognition of such symptoms. The study underscores the limitations of using race/ethnicity as a proxy for skin tone and calls for enhanced training and standardized evidence collection tools to improve identification and documentation of NFS, thereby addressing disparities and improving justice and medical outcomes for survivors.