Here is a preliminary question that might logically be asked at the outset of any discussion regarding domestic violence in Georgia:
What is it?
Indeed, what behaviors might logically be considered to fall within the rubric of family violence?
As we note in an article on our website addressing domestic violence and protective orders, so-called “spouse-on-spouse” abuse spells conduct that virtually anyone will immediately identify as problematic and being at the core of what constitutes family violence.
Although that behavior is often marked by physical harm, of course, it can also feature emotional abuse — humiliation, subjecting to ridicule, taunting and so forth — as well as conduct that otherwise belittles a spouse or partner. Abuse can also be financial, such as when one partner prevents the other from working, from having a savings account, from paying for household goods and so forth.
Violence also, and unquestionably, often targets children in a home, as well as extended family members.
As the above-cited article notes, there can often be interplay between civil and criminal law as regards domestic violence. As an example, a protective (restraining) order against a partner — which is a civil remedy — can bring criminal consequences, such as incarceration, if the person targeted by the order violates its terms.
By the same token, a spouse or partner’s arrest on a violence-related criminal charge can have resulting effects in area like child custody, which is a decidedly civil law concern.
Family violence is a flatly sensitive matter. A person having questions or concerns regarding any aspect of this singular legal topic can receive candid, confidential and knowledgeable information from a proven family law attorney.
