Georgia has a separate protective order for people in dating relationships, because the Family Violence Act does not cover them.
Why There Is a Separate Statute
OCGA 19-13-1 lists the relationships the Family Violence Act reaches: past or present spouses, parents of the same child, parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, foster parents and foster children, and people living or formerly living in the same household. A dating relationship is not on that list. Two people who dated, however seriously, do not qualify under that statute unless they also lived together at some point or have a child together.
What “Dating Violence” Means
Chapter 13A of Title 19 fills that gap. OCGA 19-13A-1(1) defines a “dating relationship” as “a committed romantic relationship characterized by a level of intimacy that is not associated with mere friendship or between persons in an ordinary business, social, or educational context; provided, however, that such term shall not require sexual involvement.” Under OCGA 19-13A-1(2), “dating violence” means “any felony” or “[c]ommission of the offenses of simple battery, battery, simple assault, or stalking” between people “through whom a current pregnancy has developed or who are currently, or within the last 12 months were, in a dating relationship.”
Appeals Are by Application
In Phaneuf v. Anthony, 375 Ga. App. 636 (2025), a woman subject to a twelve-month dating violence protective order filed a direct appeal. The Court of Appeals dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction, holding that because the General Assembly placed dating violence orders in Title 19 immediately after the family violence chapter, appeals from them are domestic relations appeals and must be brought by discretionary application.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!