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What is Family Violence?

Family violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Family violence can occur between husbands and wives, ex-spouses, dating partners, adult children and aging or ailing parents, same-gender couples, parents and children, or caregivers and clients.

Family violence can present in a variety of ways:

Forms of Family Violence

    • Brainwashing their partner or trying to make them confused about reality, making their partner believe that they are “crazy”

    • Secretly monitoring their partner through technology or other means so that they can exert power and control

    • Forcing their partner to stay awake for long hours leading to chronic exhaustion

    • Using religion or other belief systems to promote or defend their abusive behavior

    • Forcing children to engage in verbal or physical abuse of their partner

    • Threatening to “out” their partner if they are gay or lesbian

    • Threatening to have their partner deported if they are undocumented

    • Switching from violent behavior to kind behavior in order to regain trust of their partner

    • Calling their partner names like fat, ugly, stupid, crazy, sensitive or lazy

    • Controlling their partner’s everyday life

    • Blaming their partner when things go wrong

    • Preventing their partner from talking to people that can help

    • Humiliating their partner in public or when with friends and family

    • Manipulating their partner

    • Acting jealous and isolating their partner from friends and family

    • Acting in ways that make their partner feel afraid

  • Pushing 

    Slapping 

    Punching

    Kicking

    Using a weapon 

    Causing pain or injury by any other means 

    Sexual abuse, including rape 

    • Controlling the family money

    • Forcing their partner to give paychecks to the abuser

    • Not allowing their partner to work, go to school or attend other activities that would provide income

    • Depriving their partner of money to pay for basic expenses

    • Trying to get their partner fired from work by calling repeatedly, showing up or causing a disturbance

    • Taking away their partner’s passport, social security card, driver’s license or other means of independence or identification

    • Causing their partner to be hurt during sex

    • Forcing their partner to perform sexual acts

    • Having affairs outside of the intimate relationship

    • Forcing their partner to have sex for money

    • Purposely infecting their partner with HIV/AIDS or a sexually transmitted illness (STI)

Family Violence In Georgia: Statistics and Trends

42,285

Incidents of family violence reported in Georgia during 2021.

193

Known domestic violence fatalities in Georgia during 2022.

171,596

Reported incidents of family violence in Georgia from 2018-2021.

69%

Of victims in family violence incidents reported to law enforcement in 2021 were female and 30% were male.

129,528

Number of crisis calls in 2022 to Georgia's certified family violence and sexual assault agencies, a 13% increase from 2021.

Family Violence In The United States: Statistics and Trends

Over their lifetime, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men experience severe physical violence by an intimate partner.

4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2022). https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence 5. Huecker MR, King KC, Jordan GA, et al. Domestic Violence. [Updated 2021 Aug 26]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499891/ 6. Campbell, J. C., Webster, D., Koziol-McLain, J., Block, C., Campbell, D., Curry, M. A., Gary, F., Glass, N., McFarlane, J., Sachs, C., Sharps, P., Ulrich, Y., Wilt, S. A., Manganello, J., Xu, X., Schollenberger, J., Frye, V., & Laughon, K. (2003). Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: Results from a multisite case control study. American Journal of Public Health, 93(7), 1089–1097. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.93.7.1089index.html

Around half of the women visiting emergency departments report a history of abuse, and about 40% of those killed by their abusers had sought help in the two years before their death.

Over their lifetime, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men have been stalked by an intimate partner placing them in fear for their own life or the lives of those close to them.

The presence of a gun in domestic violence situations increases the risk of homicide by 500%.

A Temporary Protective Order (TPO) is a court order to help protect you from being abused, threatened, and/or stalked. A TPO will generally prohibit contact between parties and may remove or restrict someone from a certain place or residence. The following must occur before a judge will consider issuing a TPO:

  • A recent act of family violence.

  • The victim, or someone acting on behalf of the victim, must complete a petition requesting that a TPO be issued.

  • If the judge finds that the order should be issued, papers will be filed with the clerk’s office. The sheriff’s office will receive a copy of the order so that the defendant can be served with the order.

  • If the defendant violates the provisions set forth in the order, he/she can be held in contempt of court and/or possibly be arrested for a criminal violation. Any violation of the order should be reported to law enforcement and the courts.

What is a Temporary Protective Order (TPO)?

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