October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

By District Attorney Shannon Wallace

Long ago, domestic violence was often dismissed as justifiable. Spousal abuse was a private family matter, hidden behind closed doors, and considered acceptable behavior that was of no concern to outsiders. By modern day standards, this is shocking to imagine.

Today, there are laws to protect victims and punish abusers who are convicted of these crimes. In Cherokee County, intimate partner violence is carefully reviewed and investigated, and the District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Unit handles these cases with great dedication and care.

But more outreach is needed to educate concerned citizens on signs of abuse and how to help, as well as to encourage victims to hold their abusers accountable, stop the cycle of violence, and prevent domestic violence homicides.

When most people think of domestic violence, they think of physical acts – punching, slapping, pushing – but this crime involves much more than that. The abuse typically starts with manipulation and control that gets worse over time, gradually increasing, so the victim is barely aware of how bad things have gotten. In addition to being physically assaulted, many victims are emotionally, psychologically, and financially abused.

When Domestic Violence Turns Deadly

Few people are aware of how often strangulation is a factor in intimate partner violence.

Georgia law defines strangulation as “impeding the normal breathing or circulation of blood of another person by applying pressure to the throat or neck of such person or by obstructing the nose and mouth of such person.”

Consider this: The force you use to open a soda can is less than the force required to strangle someone to death.

It’s that deadly.

Injuries left by these attacks might be invisible, even in victims who are taken to the brink of death. Some victims lose consciousness, suffer gaps in memory, report lightheadedness, headache, or sore throat. Strangulation can lead to hematomas, displaced laryngeal fractures, airway obstruction, stroke, blood clots, brain damage, other complications, and death.

When law enforcement officers respond to a domestic violence call, they look for signs and symptoms of strangulation, take careful photos for evidence, and interview victims and witnesses to determine details about the assault.

A victim who survives one attack is likely to be strangled again, and the next time might result in death. This is why strangulation is a felony in Georgia.(1)

Where To Get Help

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, help is available.

1. Call 911 if in danger.
2. Call the Statewide Domestic Violence Hotline, 800-33-HAVEN (42836).
3. Contact Cherokee Family Violence Center for emergency shelter and transitional housing, CFVC.org.

The District Attorney’s Office remains proactive in its response to these crimes. In addition to the Domestic Violence Unit, office members are active participants in the Cherokee County Domestic Violence Task Force, which meets monthly.

Through effective prosecution, we can help victims escape the cycle of violence, and we can ensure that this crime is never considered justifiable or acceptable.

(1) O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21 and O.C.G.A. § 16-5-19