Survivor Justice (HB 582)
The Georgia Survivor Justice Act is a landmark win for survivors of domestic violence across Georgia. Women on the Rise helped drive this work forward so survivors are no longer punished as harshly for actions taken to survive.
The Issue
Women in Georgia Were Being Punished for Surviving
For decades, Georgia’s laws treated survivors of domestic violence the same way it treated their abusers. Women who fought back, sometimes after years of escalating harm, sometimes in the moment a partner reached for a weapon, faced the same sentencing as the people who had hurt them.
Georgia’s self-defense statute hadn’t been updated since 1993. The state’s coercion statute hadn’t been updated since 1968.
The Win
Georgia Survivors Are No Longer Punished for Surviving
In May 2025, Governor Kemp signed HB 582, the Georgia Survivor Justice Act, into law. The law permits the full context of a survivor’s experience to be considered at both trial and sentencing.
It is the most significant update to Georgia’s criminal code on this issue in a generation.
Our Role
Women on the Rise Helped Drive HB 582 Forward
