These guidelines are designed to improve responses to women with experiences of non-fatal strangulation and sexual choking. They were created to support the network of women’s health centres across NSW to develop their own organisational protocol and referral pathways for responding to women who have experienced non-fatal strangulation and sexual choking. 

The guidelines will be useful for services in NSW who see people who may have experienced non-fatal strangulation or who engage in sexual choking, including those who may have an acquired brain injury from these events.

The Guidelines are made up of four key parts:

1. Referral pathway flow charts, which summarise response steps for disclosures of strangulation in the context of violence and sexual choking. Services may opt to just use these flow charts as visual tools to guide staff.
2. A protocol, which outlines key factors for an effective response and includes definitions of things like warm referrals, terminology, screening and assessment tools, and data collection.
3. Referral pathways, these outline in detail the steps described in the two flow charts, including service provider considerations and outline actions to carry out.
4. A New South Wales State-wide Service Directory, which lists over 28 state-wide services that can support women with experiences of strangulation, sexual choking and brain injury, from sexual assault services to legal services that target specific communities.