Domestic violence in Georgia

WHAT IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?
Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive
behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another.
It includes physical violence, sexual violence, threats, and emotional abuse. The frequency and severity of
domestic violence can vary dramatically.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN GEORGIA
• 37.4% of Georgia women and 30.4% of Georgia men experience intimate partner physical violence, sexual
violence and/or stalking in their lifetimes.1
• In 2019, Georgia domestic violence programs answered 52,282 crisis calls.2
• Georgia domestic violence shelters provided shelter to 7,214 victims of domestic violence in FY 2019. An
additional 4,176 were turned away due to lack of bed space.3
• In 2017, there were 149 domestic violence-related fatalities. 70% of those involved firearms.4
• In 2017, Georgia had the 10 th highest rate in the US of women murdered by men.5
• As of December 31, 2019, Georgia had submitted one misdemeanor domestic violence and no active
protective order records to the NICS Index.6

DID YOU KNOW?
• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the United States have experienced some form of physical violence by an
intimate partner.7
• On a typical day, local domestic violence hotlines receive approximately 19,159 calls, an average of
approximately 13 calls every minute.8
• In 2018, domestic violence accounted for 20% of all violent crime.9
• Abusers' access to firearms increases the risk of intimate partner femicide at least five-fold. When firearms
have been used in the most severe abuse incident, the risk increases 41-fold.10
• 65% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner; 96% of the victims of these crimes are female.11

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE-RELATED FIREARSM LAWS IN GEORGIA
• Georgia law authorizes judges to order whatever relief they deem necessary when issuing ex parte protective
orders, excluding dating partners.12 This may include prohibiting possession and requiring surrender.
• Georgia can strengthen its laws by:
o Prohibiting domestic violence, dating violence and stalking misdemeanants from possessing firearms;
o Prohibiting abusers subject to ex parte and final protective orders, including for dating violence, from
possessing firearms;
o Requiring abusers to surrender any firearms upon becoming prohibited;
o Requiring background checks for all gun sales and transfers; and
o If requested by the survivor, requiring law enforcement to recover all firearms when responding to
domestic violence calls. 

Source: http://ncadv.org