“When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2008 Homicide Data.”

by: Jenni Stolarski, Director, AVLF Domestic Violence Project

In mid-September, the Violence Policy Center issued its annual report entitled “When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2008 Homicide Data.” Using the most recent national data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Report, the report details 2008 homicides involving one female victim and one male offender and ranks the states by rate of female homicides. Regrettably, Georgia ranks 10th in the nation in 2008 for females murdered by males in a single victim/single offender homicide. This ranking not only marks a change from Georgia’s ranking of 15th in last year’s annual report, it gives Georgia the dubious honor of securing a place within the top 20 for all eleven years of the study.

Although the study itself does not focus strictly on intimate partner violence, it highlights important lessons. First, it determines that the vast majority of females were murdered by someone they knew -- more often than not, an intimate partner. In Georgia, 82 females were murdered in 2008. In 76 of these homicides, the victim to offender relationship could be identified, with 95% involving a situation where the female victim knew the male offender. In 63% of those cases, the relationship was a current or former intimate partner relationship. Second, the study serves as a reminder of how lethal a combination intimate partner violence and guns are: in Georgia, where weapons could be identified, handguns were involved in more instances than any other type of weapon combined. The report concludes that “. . .women face the greatest threat from someone they know, most often a spouse or intimate acquaintance, who is armed with a gun.”

The release of the Violence Policy Center Report coincides with Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which takes place every October. In many ways, it is a call for honoring those victims who lost their lives and those survivors who continue to face the many and complex challenges involved in leaving an abusive relationship. Throughout October, domestic violence agencies in the metro-Atlanta area and the state will host candlelight vigils and other events to provide community forums for reflecting upon and discussing this issue.

But even more, this report must also be a call for action. Making a permanent break from an abuser is complex and dangerous work, often requiring some form of legal action, particularly when the parties are married or when children are at issue. Research has shown that access to civil legal representation has the most impact on a survivor’s ability to make a permanent break from her abuser.[1] However, access to legal representation continues to be the biggest unmet need for survivors in the metro-Atlanta area. Attorneys, paralegals, law students, and legal professionals have skills and knowledge that can be used to make a difference in the lives of survivors and their children.

Since the creation of its DV Project in 1990, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation has provided legal assistance and representation to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault, primarily in the areas of civil temporary protective orders and divorces. In addition to the army of solo practitioners and smaller-firm participants, our Domestic Violence Project specifically enjoys the support of several local and national law firms, including Arnall Golden Gregory; Alston & Bird; DLA Piper; Kilpatrick Stockton; and Sutherland. Working with Emory University School of Law, Georgia State University College of Law, and Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, we also provide a field placement for law students seeking real legal experience in assisting survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

In February, 2009, AVLF, Partnership Against Domestic Violence (“PADV), and the Fulton County Superior Court strengthened our long-existing partnership by opening the Safe Families Office in the Fulton County Courthouse. At the Safe Families Office, free legal and safety planning assistance is available on a walk-in basis to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. With the full and ongoing support of the Court and its Family Division, the Safe Families Office is staffed and managed by seasoned employees of AVLF and PADV as well as numerous volunteers from both organizations. Committed to the core belief that survivors must be equipped with legal and safety planning information in order make the best and safest decisions for their individual circumstances, AVLF and PADV work alongside each other to provide coordinated services to survivors. This client-centered collaboration allows legal assistance, social services assistance, and safety planning assistance to take place in one location during one intake appointment. After intake is completed, appropriate cases are considered for placement with volunteer lawyers who are trained and mentored by AVLF staff. Since launching in 2009, over 4000 survivors have received assistance at our Safe Families Office. In a site visit this past summer, Vivian Huelgo, Chief Counsel for the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic Violence described our work at the Safe Families Office as “a model best practices program.”

Since opening the Safe Families Office, we have seen how client-centered, collaborative work can present survivors with real alternatives to staying in abusive relationships. We have been inspired by the courage and resilience that our clients demonstrate in the face of adversity. And we have been inspired by the scores of advocates and legal volunteers who step out of their daily practice to answer the call for help. To mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month, National Pro Bono Celebration Week, and the virtual one-year anniversary of our Safe Families Office, there will be a volunteer appreciation reception on Friday, October 29, 2010, from 2:30 – 4:30, at our Safe Families Office, located in Courtroom 6G of the Fulton County Courthouse. We invite you to attend and see for yourself the work that is being done to stop intimate partner violence in our community.

As a community, we do not have to accept our ranking. We have the ability to collaborate and work together to end intimate partner violence.

Won’t you join us?

Jenni Stolarski is the Director of AVLF’s Domestic Violence Project. For more information on AVLF’s DV Project, please visit www.avlf.org.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Farmer, A. and Tiefenthaler, J. Explaining the Recent Decline in Domestic Violence, Contemporary Economic Policy, 2003, vol. 21, issue 2, pp. 158-172.