Georgia Commission on Family Violence records

Collection

Identifier: W097

Staff Only
Not requestable

Scope and Content of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence

Correspondence, legal documents, legislative records, meeting minutes and agendas, training and workshop manuals, conference materials, budget and grant information, printed materials, photographs and audiovisual materials make up the records of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence. The records are organized into 10 series. Series I: Administrative Records, 1993-2010, includes contracts and protocols, Commission member lists, agendas and minutes from quarterly meetings, materials documenting the work of various Georgia Commission on Family Violence committees and reports. Series II: Office Files, 1992-2010, documents the day-to-day undertakings of GCFV, and includes budget and grant records, daily correspondence and other printed materials. Series III: Projects, 1990-2011, contains meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence, research materials and reports that document the large-scale undertakings of the Commission. Series IV: Task Forces, 1997-2010, is divided by judicial circuit and/or county and includes Task Force bylaws, meeting agendas and minutes, family violence protocols, correspondence, strategic planning information, progress reports, photographs and other printed materials. Series V: Training and Workshops, 1996-2010, includes the training materials from GCFV-led workshops as well as documents from training sessions attended by members of the Commission. Series VI: Conference Materials, 2000-2009, includes conference planning, correspondence, programs and training materials acquired from the GCFV Annual Conference and from conferences members of the Commission attended. Series VII: Legislative and Legal Documents, 1995-2007, contains primarily House and Senate Bills relevant to family violence prevention, as well as legal documents, correspondence and other printed materials relating to Georgia legislation. Series VIII: Printed Materials, 1985-2009, contains all other resources utilized by GCFV including reports, statistical information, newspaper and web articles and materials related to violence prevention and survivor services. Series IX: Audiovisual Materials, 1995-2010, consists of audio and video recordings acquired by the Commission, and photographs taken at various events. Series X: Artifacts, undated, consists of stickers and three dimensional objects aquired by the Commission from domestic and family violence prevention services. The electronic files contain photographs, paperwork, and grant information from 2002 to 2003 for the Georgia Commission for Family Violence. Files found in floppy disk images include photographs from events between 2002 and 2003, a 2003 webpage, event information, PowerPoint slide decks, and grant information. Files transferred from CDs and DVDs include training manuals and event information for several domestic violence conferences between 2003 and 2006.

Dates

Creation: 1985-2011
Creation: Majority of material found within 1995 - 2008

Creator

Georgia. Commission on Family Violence (Organization)

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use.

Some records have been redacted to protect the identity of individuals. Access to the originals is restricted for 75 years.

Born-digital files may contain restricted content and require review by Special Collections and Archives staff prior to access.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Georgia State University is the owner of the physical collection and makes reproductions available for research, subject to the copyright law of the United States and item condition. Georgia State University may or may not own the rights to materials in the collection. It is the researcher's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and obtain permission from the copyright holder before publication, reproduction, or display of the materials beyond what is reasonable under copyright law. Researchers may quote selections from the collection under the fair use provision of copyright law.

Some electronic content is copyright-protected: W097_bd41 has a copyright notice on the disc stating that duplication is permitted without permission; no alterations permitted. W097_bd38 has a copyright notice on the disc stating that copyright is held by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. W097_bd37 has a copyright notice on the disc stating that copyright is held by the National College of District Attorneys. Other electronic content may also be copyright-protected or subject to restrictions and will be reviewed prior to use.

History of Georgia Commission on Family Violence

The Georgia General Assembly created the Georgia Commission on Family Violence (GCFV) in 1992. Focusing primarily on legislation, research, education and training, monitoring Family Violence and Batterer Intervention Programs and increasing community awareness, GCFV aims to increase the safety of survivors, improve the resources available and implement more adequate tools for family violence prevention. Recognizing that women and children are most affected by intimate partner violence, GCFV places the needs of these survivors at the center of their work.

GCFV advocates for legislation that adequately addresses the broad spectrum of family violence, including the proper implementation of Temporary Protective Orders (TPO's) and Protective Orders (PO's), increasing immigrant and refugee resources and changing child support and joint custody policies that take into account the safety of domestic violence survivors. In addition, they "monitor the implementation and enforcement of laws, regulations and protocols concerning family violence." This includes establishing protocols for law enforcement staff, medical professionals and court judges that place the needs of survivors first. GCFV acknowledges that family violence prevention necessitates holding abusers accountable for their behavior, creating "standards to be used by the Department of Corrections in the certification and regulation of Family Violence Intervention Programs (FVIPs)." The Commission also engages in advocacy work for women falsely incarcerated for killing their abusers in self-defense.

The Commission holds quarterly meetings, assessing the current state of domestic violence in Georgia and evaluating the effectiveness of current projects and programs. Their ongoing activities include the Fatality Review Project which collects and investigates data on domestic violence related deaths in Georgia, the Protective Order Registry Project, coordinating community-run task forces, annual participation on Stop Violence Against Women Day and advocating for the Full Faith and Credit provision of the Violence Against Women Act. GCFV holds conferences annually and periodically facilitates workshops and training seminars. The Commission also participates in workshops and seminars with other organizations regionally and nationally. Coalitions with other organizations include Men Stopping Violence, Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Battered Women's Justice Project, National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Extent

24 Linear Feet (in 47 boxes)

.38 Gigabytes (34 floppy disks, 1 data cartridge, and 7 optical discs (CDs and DVDs))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Born-digital content is found in Series III, Subseries B; Series V, Subseries B; Series VI, Subseries A; and Series XI. Born-digital content must be accessed in the Special Collections and Archives reading room. Access to this material requires an appointment and at least two working days' advance notice; consult Special Collections staff for assistance. Files are stored in the Special Collections preservation system and can be made available by request on a reading room computer, subject to any restrictions deemed necessary after a department review.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Georgia Commission on Family Violence, 2010 and 2011.

Appraisal

Electronic files containing content with research value were extracted from the CDs and DVDs and preserved digitally. The floppy disks were imaged and saved in their entirety. Blank media and duplicate copies were not preserved.

Existence and Location of Copies

Some records originally saved to floppy disks were printed out during processing and integrated throughout the paper materials. Because the information saved on CDs and DVDs is extensive, it was not printed out.

Most born-digital files have been separated from physical media for preservation and access purposes. Copies are stored on the Special Collections preservation server; access requires at least two working days’ advance notice. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Separated Materials

During processing, monographs were separated to Special Collections Books. A list of Separated Material is kept by the archivist and is available upon request.

Physical Description

The digital portion of the collection comprises 34 floppy disks, 1 data cartridge, and 7 optical discs (CDs and DVDs). 174 files and 34 folders (totalling .388 GB) were extracted from the physical media and retained. The file count includes disk images but does not reflect the total number of files within each image.

Processing Information

Processed by Crystal Rodgers and Hilary Morrish at the item level.

Electronic materials were separated during processing in 2012 and later processed by Haley Price under the supervision of Katherine Fisher, 2020. Complete disk images were captured from floppy disks; files containing unique content were extracted from CDs for preservation. Original file names and organization were not changed. Folder-level modified dates were unavoidably altered during the transfer process, but file-system metadata for individual files was retained whenever possible. The data cartridge was not processed due to lack of appropriate equipment.