Marsy’s Law for Georgia and the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia Urge Businesses to Take Pledge

By partnering with client-facing businesses, the Pledge aims to create a network of informed and equipped organizations capable of offering meaningful resources and connections to keep victims and survivors of all crimes safe.

ATLANTA – April 8, 2024 – Marsy’s Law for Georgia and the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council (PAC) of Georgia have partnered in a statewide campaign to solicit client-facing businesses to take a pledge to be a Community Advocate and help keep victims of crime informed and aware of available resources following a crime.

PAC Director of Victim Services Dr. Rita Davis-Cannon recently presented this campaign to Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys’ Victim Service Directors during the annual Victim Advocacy conference, where the Program Directors enthusiastically agreed that a grassroots informational campaign was necessary.

Every District Attorneys’ and Solicitor-Generals’ office and the Georgia Office of Victim Service (GOVS) will commit to approaching local client-facing businesses including medical offices, car repair shops, nail and hair salons - to equip the businesses and their employees with a direct link to available victim resources. The package will include a window cling to let customers know that the business is a safe place for confidential disclosures.

“The idea came to me when I was at the dentist’s office making small talk about what I do. The dentist revealed that he encountered a victim of domestic violence who was uninsured and in desperate need of extensive dental treatment. He was not aware of any resources that he could provide in addition to his services,” Dr. Davis-Cannon said. “It then occurred to me that we could help supply the information to these service industries where victims often confide to their provider that they are in danger or in need of additional support.”

Marsy’s Law for Georgia and PAC previously partnered when drafting (Marsy’s Law), a constitutional amendment which passed statewide in November 2018. The two organizations also created the Crime Victims’ Notification Card intended for local law enforcement to present to crime victims detailing their rights.

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is an annual campaign during the last full week of April (April 21- 27) that promotes crime victims’ rights. The 2024 theme is, “How would you help? Options, services, and hope for crime survivors.” The collective goal is to continue to raise awareness so that crime victims know there are services, they have a voice, and they will be heard throughout the criminal justice process.

“This pledge campaign is a fantastic idea and I’m so glad Rita approached Marsy’s Law for Georgia to partner in developing the messaging and designing the collateral,” said Brad Alexander, Marsy’s Law for Georgia spokesperson. “These are the types of relationships that help bring awareness to keep victims’ rights in the forefront of everyone’s minds — not just during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week but year-round.”

Businesses that might encounter crime victims and would benefit from taking the pledge are: