According to the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, “domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in a relationship where one partner seeks to gain power and control over the other through a range of harmful and coercive tactics, such as physical, sexual and emotional abuse.”[1] As evident from this definition, domestic violence has many forms. It is not restricted to married couples, people who are dating, or people who are living in the same household. Domestic violence can happen in any demographic, whether a man or a woman initiates the violence and pattern of control.
Bringing awareness to domestic violence and its trends has been a passion of mine since law school. For my first internship during the summer of my 1L year, I interned with Atlanta Legal Aid Society in the Marietta division, where I assisted my supervising attorney in battling divorce cases for survivors of domestic violence and petitioning for Temporary Protective Orders in the Superior Court of Cobb County. During law school, I was a student advocate in the Jane W. Wilson Family Justice Clinic, where I litigated Temporary Protective Orders under the supervision of Professor Christine Scartz as well as divorce matters where the primary reason for divorce was cruel treatment. These experiences provided tremendous insight for me into the nuances of domestic violence, especially in regard to how technology can influence it given the rise of artificial intelligence and tracking devices can be used to further the abuser’s control.
As a family law attorney, I have seen how domestic violence can quickly escalate from verbal abuse to physical violence. It can begin as a form of restriction by one party as a way to isolate the survivor of domestic violence from any form of support. This type of restriction can start as a form of manipulation where the abuser voices to the survivor that he or she wants more quality time with the survivor or frames the survivor’s support system as a negative influence. It can develop into the abuser demanding that the survivor share his or her location with the abuser at all times and provide all login and password credentials for social media and email. It can happen unbeknownst to the survivor by the abuser placing tracking devices, such as the Apple AirTag, in the survivor’s vehicle. If the survivor does not comply with all of these rules imposed by the abuser, it can result in physical violence or threats to frighten the survivor into submission.
A common misconception for many people unfamiliar with how ubiquitous the cycle of domestic violence can be is that the survivor can easily leave that situation due to public resources such as women’s shelters and law enforcement. However, the cycle of domestic violence is not often easily detected and can accumulate into a life-threatening threat. Because domestic violence can begin so discreetly, survivors often do not realize that they are in a dangerous environment until escape can become trepidatious or place them in financial ruin. This cycle is more than a term of art; it is backed by a multitude of data across national committees on the issue, such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline.[2] The Power and Control Wheel shows how emotional abuse, isolation, minimizing blame, using children, using male privilege, using economic abuse, using coercion and threats, and using intimidation are all tactic used by abusers to control their victims.[3] For example, a married woman who has been a stay-at-home mother who finds herself in an abusive relationship may not have the resources to flee the marital home with her children safely due to financial restrictions and control tactics (such as shared bank accounts and tracking devices) without fear that her abuser would find a way to track her down.
Fortunately, Georgia law has protections for survivors of domestic violence pursuing a divorce or child custody matter. Temporary Protective Orders offer an excellent form of protection for domestic violence survivors. These Orders are often for twelve months at a time and prohibit the abuser from contacting the survivor in any way, staying a minimum distance away from the survivor, and can even be expanded to include minor children or associates of the survivor. Another basis of protection under Georgia law is the ability to assert cruel treatment as a grounds for divorce, which can put the Court on notice of the abuse and potentially result in a great amount of assets rewarded to the survivor on a temporary or permanent basis, such as awarding exclusive use and possession of the home to the survivor during the pendency of litigation.
The Manely Firm, P.C. is well equipped with the knowledge, expertise, and empathy to assist you if this blog post has resonated with you. There is a way out of domestic violence and taking the first step, whether by filing a divorce or seeking a Temporary Protective Order, provides a guiding light to transforming your life for the better.
[1] Office of Violence Against Women (2012). http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/domviolence.html
[2] “Power and Control Wheel,” The National Domestic Violence Hotline. https://www.thehotline.org/identify-abuse/power-and-control/.
[3] Id.