A 24-Week Court-Approved Program
Family Violence Intervention Program
Family Violence Intervention Program
A 24-Week Court-Approved Program
The State of Georgia requires that all individuals who receive a Family Violence charge complete the 24-week Family Violence Intervention Program. FVIP providers must be certified by the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, and will appear on their website. Do not enroll in a program that does not appear on this list.
The Diversion Center is certified to teach FVIP in Cobb and Gwinnett counties. In order to enroll, FVIP participants must first complete an intake/orientation. During this intake, participants will choose a day to attend, decide when they will start, receive their workbook, and be enrolled in the class.
Domestic Violence is a violent confrontation between family or household members involving physical harm, sexual assault, or fear of physical harm. Family or household members include spouses / former spouses, those in (or formerly in) a dating relationship, adults related by blood or marriage, and those who have a biological or legal parent-child relationship.
The batterer uses acts of violence and a series of behaviors, including intimidation, threats, psychological abuse, and isolation to coerce and to control the other person. The violence may not happen often, but may remain a hidden and constant terrorizing factor. Domestic violence is not only physical and sexual violence but also psychological. Psychological violence means intense and repetitive degradation, creating isolation, and controlling the actions or behaviors of the spouse through intimidation or manipulation to the detriment of the individual.
Domestic violence destroys the home. No one deserves to be abused. The responsibility for the violence belongs to the abuser. It is not the victim’s fault!
MARIETTA
Men:
Thursday 7pm-8:30pm
Saturday 10:30am-12:00pm
Symptoms of Abuse – Misuse of Power And Control
Abuse in a relationship is any act used to gain power and control over another person. Women who are abused physically are often isolated. Their partners tend to control their lives to a great extent as well as verbally degrade them.
Listed below are some of the warning signs of domestic abuse. Look to see if there are multiple warning signs that are occurring in your life. These lists are not all-inclusive.
Physical and Sexual Abuse
- Hair pulling
- Biting
- Shaking
- Pushing
- Pinching
- Choking
- Kicking
- Confinement
- Slapping
- Hitting
- Deprivation of food or sleep
Economic Abuse
- Preventing them from getting or keeping a job
- Making them ask for money
- Giving them an allowance
- Taking their money
- Not letting them know about or have access to family income
- Not allowing them a voice in important financial decisions
- Demanding exclusive control over household finances.
Using Intimidation
- Making then afraid by using looks, gestures, or actions
- Throwing or smashing things, destroying property
- Abusing pets
- Dangerous driving
- Displaying weapons
Using Isolation
- Controlling what they do, who they see, what they read, & where they go
- Limiting their outside involvement
- Refusing to let them learn to drive, go to school, or get a job
- Not allowing them to freely use the car or the telephone.
Emotional Abuse
- Insulting in public or in private
- Putting down their friends and family
- Making them feel bad about themselves
- Calling them names
- Making them think they’re crazy
- Playing mind games
- Humiliating them
- Making them feel guilty
- Treating them like a servant
- Making all the big decisions
- Defining men’s and women’s roles.
Using Coercion and Threats
- Making or carrying out threats to do something to hurt them
- Threatening to leave them, or to commit suicide
- Threatening to report them to welfare
- Making them drop charges
- Making them do illegal things.
Using Children
- Making them feel guilty about the children
- Using the children to relay messages
- Using visitation to harass them
- Threatening to take the children away
Using Jealousy and Blame
- Minimizing, Denying, Blaming
- Making light of the abuse and not taking her concerns about it seriously
- Checking up on where they’ve been or who they’ve talked to
- Accusing them of infidelity
- Saying the abuse didn’t happen
- Shifting responsibility for abusive behavior
- Saying she caused it.
Why Get Help?
The danger is real.
If you are controlling or have a controlling partner, don’t ignore these behaviors. They are not the result of stress, anger, drugs or alcohol. They are learned behaviors that one person uses to dominate, intimidate and manipulate. They are destructive and dangerous.
If the abuse continues without outside help, the abusing partner may risk being arrested, going to jail, or losing the relationship.
Domestic violence hurts all family members. When a person is abusive he or she eventually loses the trust and respect of his or her partner. Abused partners are afraid to communicate their feelings and needs.
Everyone has the right to feel safe in a relationship. With help, people who are abusive can learn to be non-violent.
Learn the Warning Signs
Disagreements develop from time to time in relationships. Domestic violence is not a disagreement. It is a whole pattern of behaviors used by one partner to establish and maintain power and control over the other. These behaviors can become more frequent and intense over time.
The abusive person is responsible for these behaviors. That person is the only one who can change them. Don’t wait until you and the ones you love get hurt. You Are Not Alone. Consider getting some help. Talk with friends about your situation.
If you need to talk because you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship,
call toll-free, 24-hours
1-800-799-SAFE (7233) – voice or 1- – TTY – elsewhere in the U.S
For more information about the Georgia Commission on Family Violence or the Family Violence Intervention Program,
visit their website here.