GA Code § 19-15-1 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 19 - Domestic Relations|Chapter 15 - Child Abuse|§ 19-15-1. (Effective January 1, 2022.) Definitions

 As used in this chapter, the term:    "Abused" means subjected to child abuse.   "Child" means any person under 18 years of age.   "Child abuse" means:   Physical injury or death inflicted upon a child by a parent or caretaker thereof by other than accidental means; provided, however, that physical forms of discipline may be used as long as there is no physical injury to the child;   Neglect or exploitation of a child by a parent or caretaker thereof;   Sexual abuse of a child; or   Sexual exploitation of a child.     "Child advocacy center" means an entity which is operated for the purposes of investigating known or suspected child abuse and treating a child or a family that is the subject of a report of child abuse and which:   Has been created and supported through one or more intracommunity compacts between such center and:   One or more law enforcement agencies within this state; any other state; the United States, including its territories, possessions, and dominions; or a foreign nation;   The office of the district attorney, Attorney General, or United States Attorney General;   A legally mandated public or private child protective agency within this state; any other state; the United States, including its territories, possessions, and dominions; or a foreign nation;   A mental health board within this state; any other state; the United States, including its territories, possessions, and dominions; or a foreign nation; or   A community health service board within this state; any other state; the United States, including its territories, possessions, and dominions; or a foreign nation; and     Has been approved by a protocol committee.     "Child protection professional" means any person who is employed by the state or a political subdivision of the state as a law enforcement officer, school teacher, school administrator, or school counselor or who is employed to render services to children by the Department of Public Health, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, or the Department of Human Services or any county board of health, community service board, or county department of family and children services.   "Investigation" in the context of child death includes all of the following:   A post-mortem examination which may be limited to an external examination or may include an autopsy;   An inquiry by law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction into the circumstances of the death, including a scene investigation and interview with the child's parents, guardian, or caretaker and the person who reported the child's death; and   A review of information regarding the child and family from relevant agencies, professionals, and providers of medical care.     "Panel" means the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel established pursuant to Code Section 19-15-4.   "Protocol committee" means a multidisciplinary, multiagency committee established pursuant to Code Section 19-15-2.   "Report" means a standardized form designated by the panel which is required for collecting data on child fatalities reviewed by local child fatality review committees.   "Review committee" means a multidisciplinary, multiagency child fatality review committee established for a county or circuit pursuant to Code Section 19-15-3.   "Sexual abuse" means a person's employing, using, persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing any minor who is not such person's spouse to engage in any act which involves:   Sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;   Bestiality;   Masturbation;   Lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person;   Flagellation or torture by or upon a person who is nude;   Condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained on the part of a person who is nude;   Physical contact in an act of apparent sexual stimulation or gratification with any person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, or buttocks or with a female's clothed or unclothed breasts;   Defecation or urination for the purpose of sexual stimulation; or   Penetration of the vagina or rectum by any object except when done as part of a recognized medical procedure.  Sexual abuse shall include consensual sex acts when the sex acts are between minors if any individual is less than 14 years of age; provided, however, that it shall not include consensual sex acts when the sex acts are between a minor and an adult who is not more than four years older than the minor. This provision shall not be deemed or construed to repeal any law concerning the age or capacity to consent.      "Sexual exploitation" means conduct by any person who allows, permits, encourages, or requires a child to engage in:   Sexual servitude, as defined in Code Section 16-5-46; or   Sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual or print medium depicting such conduct, as defined in Code Section 16-12-100.       (Code 1981, §19-1-1, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1785, § 1; Code 1981, §19-15-1, as redesignated by Ga. L. 1991, p. 94, § 19; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1695, § 2; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1941, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 1158, § 1; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 2-8/HB 228; Ga. L. 2009, p. 733, § 2/SB 69; Ga. L. 2011, p. 705, § 6-3/HB 214; Ga. L. 2014, p. 34, § 2-3/SB 365; Ga. L. 2016, p. 773, § 3/HB 905; Ga. L. 2016, p. 864, § 19/HB 737; Ga. L. 2021, p. 134, § 13/SB 28.)   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 2014, p. 34, § 2-1/SB 365, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This part shall be known and may be cited as the 'Journey Ann Cowart Act.'"   Ga. L. 2014, p. 34, § 2-9/SB 365, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide for transparency relative to investigations involving child abuse and child fatalities in order to best protect the children of this state. The General Assembly finds that more disclosure of information may be necessary when a child is deceased. The General Assembly intends that agencies and departments of this state share data in order to conduct research for the purpose of preventing child fatalities in this state."   Law reviews.   - For article, "Local Government Law," see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 389 (2001). For article on the 2014 amendment of this Code section, see 31 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 25 (2014).