- 18,740 emergency hotline calls were made to SCCADVASA member domestic violence (DV) organizations in FY 2015.
- Nearly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have suffered severe physical violence from an intimate partner, according to the CDC.
- South Carolina law makes no distinction in domestic violence for gender of the abuser or the victim, or for the nature of the underlying relationship (ie, the law treats a male victim of a female abuser or domestic violence within same gender relationships the same as a female victim of a male abuser in a heterosexual relationship).
DV factors considered by the court include but are not limited to sexual violence, physical violence, and evidence of which party was the primary aggressor. South Carolina courts may not use the forced absence from the home of a domestic violence victim escaping abuse as a rationale to deny child custody to the victim. SC Code §63-15-40
Abusers threaten victims with loss of custody of shared children, so reassure your client that leaving the home to escape violence is not treated as abandonment absent other factors.
In 2012, the General Assembly provided a non-exhaustive list of seventeen factors to consider in custody decisions. Domestic violence is considered, but it is one of many considerations and is not determinative. § 63-15-240 (b)
For that reason, it is possible for an abuser to be awarded full visitation rights or even custody. You must manage client expectations and remind them that each case will be evaluated on a case by case basis.