Capitol Ideas
Georgia Commission on Family Violence
Aims to End Abuse By Representative Mandi L. Ballinger
W
ith all the recent attention that the NFL Abuse Scandal has brought to domestic abuse and family violence, I wanted to examine how our state handles the issue. Last year, the Georgia Commission on Family Violence tracked 235 calls to police from the first response to the conclusion of the case. Of those 235 calls, 90 resulted in an arrest; of those 90 arrests, 72 people were charged with a crime; only 28 of those 72 people charged were prosecuted as charged; 44 people were pled down or dismissed, and 17 cases were dismissed because the victim died. In nearly 10 percent of the cases examined, the victim died. In Georgia, there were at least 1,300 deaths related to domestic violence in 2003-2013 — that is an average of 130 per year. Statistics like this are simply unacceptable.
Violence. The Georgia Commission on Family Violence works with communities and systems across the state to provide leadership in strengthening Georgia’s families to ending family violence. In 1992, the Georgia General Assembly created the Georgia Commission on Family Violence to develop a comprehensive state plan for ending family violence in Georgia. Working with the Commission, I will help develop policies to give law enforcement and the courts the tools they need to more successfully address the issue of domestic violence. The Commission currently has a list of recommendations that include: •
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Earlier this year, I was appointed to serve on the Georgia Commission on Family •
rosecutors developing specialized P units to handle domestic violence cases in jurisdictions where there is a substantial caseload; Judges developing and using a variety of sentencing options for abusers, including Family Violence Intervention Plans, timely court review, jail time, work release, electronic home monitoring, and intensive probation; Work with a local domestic violence program to connect victims with the economic support they need in order to keep them from returning to their abuser for financial support;
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eview policies and practices R for monitoring the accuracy and completeness of family violence incident reports; Institute offense report reviews on an ongoing basis to monitor adherence to policy, and to reduce liability and danger to officers and victims.
In addition to making these and other policy changes, we need to make communities and ourselves more responsive to signs of domestic violence and family abuse, such as: •
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Turning down social invitations or missing work or social engagements often; Seeming more withdrawn or isolated, or seeming to have lost confidence; Becoming anxious or unusually quiet when their partner is around; Unexplained injuries or injuries that do not fit the explanation for how they happened.
People experiencing domestic violence often turn to their friends and family before they ever contact law enforcement. This informal network of support is vital to victims, but it can be difficult to know how to best support them. One of the most important things that you can do is to offer to help connect victims with resources, such as Georgia’s 24-Hour Statewide Hotline (1-800-33-HAVEN/2836). This hotline will connect victims to local resources, such as the Cherokee Family Violence Center.
Mandi Ballinger serves District 23 in the Georgia House of Representatives. 770-479-1011, Mandi.Ballinger@ House.Ga.gov
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