FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
By Catherine Johnson, Alliance for HOPE International
October 22, 2025

The founders of Alliance for HOPE International, Gael Strack and Casey Gwinn, just finished their 12th book on domestic and sexual violence. Their newest book, “Addressing Strangulation in Florida Courts: A Critical Resource,” was commissioned by the Florida Supreme Court as a guidebook for judges across the state on the handling of strangulation assaults and is being provided to judges and court personnel across Florida.

Alliance President and CEO, Catherine Johnson hailed the new book as the pathway forward to train judges and magistrates across the country in how to handle strangulation assaults: “Tens of thousands of judges from coast to coast need this kind of resource and training from our Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention. This is the comprehensive book for judges ever written and will increase victim safety and offender accountability for their violent crimes.”

The new book is available online for all interested judges and professionals in Florida and throughout the United States. The book is already available in a PDF – Addressing Strangulation in Florida Courts: A Critical Resource – and will also be printed for distribution.

In partnership with the Office of the State Courts and the Florida Department of Children and Families, the Institute researched and wrote the book in less than six months.

Gael Strack, the researcher and lead author, thanked Kathleen Tailer, Esq., Sophia Akel, J.D., and Nathan Moon (Senior Attorney) from the Office of the State Courts Administrator, the Department of Children and Families, as well as Judge Lynn Tepper (Ret.), Judge Mary Evans (20th Circuit), and Judge Stefanie Moon (17th Circuit). “This was a team effort from start to finish. We used case law from Florida and across the country. We talked through the complexities of handling these cases. And we worked hard to make sure we addressed the diverse legal and factual issues that judges face in criminal, civil, juvenile, and family court cases. The result is a resource that will guide the courts for decades to come.”

Co-author Casey Gwinn talked about the future impact of the first book of its kind in the country: “Court systems across the country need a resource book like this. We have failed so many strangulation assault survivors for so long in this country. We have failed to understand the lethality of stranglers. We have failed to understand the need for experts in these cases. And we have missed strangulation as the ultimate form of power and control. Men who strangled women are taking them to the edge of death regularly to demonstrate their ability to kill women at any moment. Once we police officers, prosecutors, advocates, doctors, nurses, therapists, civil attorneys, and judges fully understand the dynamics of strangulation, they can respond with lifesaving interventions. This type of book will save the lives in the years to come in Florida and across the country if other judges follow the lead of the Florida courts.”

The Alliance’s Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention trains approximately 50,000 judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, doctors, nurses, advocates, Family Justice Center Directors, and other professionals annually in the United States and around the world. Addressing Strangulation in Florida Courts: A Critical Resource compiles the most up to date laws, case law, research, national trends and practices, and includes chapters on handling strangulation cases in family court, emerging issues and promising practices.

 

Acknowledgements:

The Alliance is grateful to Yesenia Aceves, Director of Communications and Culture for her beautiful design and layout for the Resource Guide. We also honor and recognize our National Advisors, Experts and Faculty for the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention for sharing their expertise us and all their contributions. Our Advocacy, Legal, and Medical Committees are made up of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement officers, doctors, nurses, civil attorneys, advocates, and strangulation assault survivors who volunteer their time to guide the work of the Institute.

Alliance for HOPE International is one of the leading systems and social change organizations in the country focused on creating innovative, collaborative, trauma-informed approaches to meeting the needs of adult and child survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Alliance for HOPE International and its allied Family Justice Centers serve more than 150,000 survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. The Alliance supports multi-agency Centers in 45 states and 25 countries and trains more than 40,000 professionals every year. The organization was founded in 2003 by Casey Gwinn and Gael Strack after the opening of the first Family Justice Center.

Alliance for HOPE International operates the Family Justice Center Alliance, the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, Camp HOPE America, DomesticShelters.org, the VOICES Survivor Advocacy Network, and the Justice Project. The Alliance was launched by the founders of the San Diego Family Justice Center, Casey Gwinn and Gael Strack, after the development of the President’s Family Justice Center Initiative in 2004. At the request of the U.S. Department of Justice, the team was asked to develop a program to support new and developing Family Justice Centers across the country. There are currently more than 150 operational Centers in 45 states today with another 150 Family Justice Centers in 25 countries. There are over 50 Family Justice Centers currently developing in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Central America. For more information, go to allianceforhope.org.

 

Contact Information:

Alliance for HOPE International: allianceforhope.org
Catherine Johnson: catherine@allianceforhope.com