SALT LAKE CITY — Funding for a domestic violence program advocates claim saves lives in Utah and holds abusers accountable is at stake ahead of the end of this year’s legislative session.
Haley Lichtie is a forensic nurse who believes the program is critical to victims who have experienced strangulation. She says victims are seven times more likely to die by homicide.
Lichtie considers caring for others her life’s purpose.
"They came and spoke to us about forensic nursing and I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, that’s it for me. That’s my calling!” she said.
She now wants to make sure others feel the same safety she felt growing up.
“I was very fortunate to grow up in a safe home where I had safe men in my life, and so when I found out about forensic nursing and that there was such a need in Utah, I was absolutely floored because not everyone has those safe relationships within the home,” Lichtie explained, adding, “I want people to feel safe where they live.”
Part of Lichtie's job as a forensic nurse is examining domestic violence victims for signs of strangulation.
“I get a little history of the assault from the patient and that’s a really good way to help my brain start thinking what evidence might be collected," she said. "Where might there be injury, where am I looking, and what type of injury am I looking for?
“Then we talk in detail about the strangulation, I want to know as much as they can remember, I want to know how their body was feeling, I want to know what was going on in their head. I wanted to know if they were able to swallow. Things like that.”
The examination, also known as the Strangulation Exam Reimbursement Program, is key in preventing these cases from turning deadly.
“There’s a lot of scary statistics out there," explained Lichtie. "Every time someone puts a ligature or forearm around your neck you’re statistically 7 times more likely to be killed by that person every time that happens.”
However, funding for the state program is at stake as the Utah legislature revealed its final budget recommendations, outlining how lawmakers plan to spend the state’s $30 billion. The strangulation program that legislators had approved funding for in the past was not listed.
Erin Jemison, director of public policy with the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition, says it requested $260,000 for the program this year.
“The thought that we’ve worked over the past three years to really get this program going, and it’s running smoothly and we’re seeing huge increases in exams and is working, to then think about it shutting its doors and not being available to victims, is scary,” Jemison said.
Those who support and promote the program's importance hope there’s still a chance that funding may come through before Friday when the budget is finalized.
