Domestic violence does not discriminate. Since 2008, there have been more than 14,000 calls to local law enforcement related to domestic violence.

"It's very big. It affects every race in Gainesville, every social class," said Cpl. Sarah Wilson of the Gainesville Police Department. "It's probably the biggest call type we get on a daily basis."

The prevalence of domestic abuse is something Anjana Freeman, instructor of psychology at Gainesville State College, wants to bring awareness to, especially for the college community.

Thursday kicked off a series of events for Gainesville State students with a day of empowerment and memorial for students affected by domestic violence.

Local musicians were on hand, as were resources for domestic abuse victims, and nearly 100 students donated decorated T-shirts for the Clothesline Project.

"It's literally a clothesline filled with shirts, honoring people they know or who have survived domestic abuse," Freeman said. "Many are memorials to those who lost their lives."

This is the third year Gainesville State has commemorated domestic abuse victims and the second year it has done a Clothesline Project. Freeman said they continue to receive anonymous shirts sent throughout the year, even after the display is moved.

The other events in October will teach Gainesville State students about domestic violence — signs to look for, ways to keep kids safe and what child abuse cases look like in court, for example.

"What we find is just this phenomenal number of students coming forward and saying they wanted to get safe or know someone who wants to get safe," Freeman said. "We knew that statistically the college population has the highest rate of relationship violence and those who are in violent relationships but don't recognize the signs."

Freeman said college students in an abusive relationship are less productive at work and at school and many times, students live in a state of chronic stress.

"One of the major effects we see is they don't know how to have positive relationships," she said.

Gainesville Police Sgt. Chad Ford has been involved in law enforcement for more than 10 years. He's seen the reporting from victims increase, something he attributes to availability of resources and the zero tolerance stance most police departments have taken.

Under the Family Violence Act, domestic abuse perpetrators are not given a bond until their first appearance in front of a judge, when they receive a conditional bond, Hall County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks said.

"It restricts a lot of things they can and can't do ... They can't contact the victim of the crime in person, by any secondary means like text or email or any third party," he said. "The other thing it does is sort of paves the way for the victim to obtain temporary protective order if they so choose."

Wilbanks said if an accused perpetrator is a husband or wife, the individual is not allowed to go back into the home. If he needs to go back for any reason, he is escorted by an officer.

Each Hall County Sheriff's Office shift has two domestic violence officers who've undergone specialized training for interview techniques, awareness and resource contacts. The Gainesville Police Department has one such officer per shift.

Freeman said if people suspect or know a friend of theirs is in a violent relationship, it's best to be a listening ear, because dropping everything and leaving an abusive situation could put them in more danger.

"If someone is in fear for their safety, of course we want to be available to them to help. But if they're not comfortable contacting the police, we recommend they contact a community resource available," Wilbanks said.

Wilson said college students can go to their administrators if they don't feel safe enough to contact law enforcement. She said they are usually trained on how to handle domestic situations.

Ford said domestic violence calls are some of the most dangerous that officers must respond to.

"You have no idea what you're going into. There's been instances where officers have been killed on the approach of a domestic violence call or a perpetrator has a weapon and uses it and catches officers off guard," he said.

In Gainesville and Hall County, the most common charges against domestic abuse perpetrators include simple assault, battery, aggravated stalking and aggravated assault.

"Simple battery, to put it plainly, is if there were witnesses that observed a male strike a female but there are no physical marks on her," Wilson said. "If there are physical marks, battery is charged. Aggravated assault is if a weapon was used."

Not all domestic abuse cases are based on physical attacks, however.

"Some of our main goals are now not necessarily focusing on physical abuse but it's also financial, verbal, sexual abuse," Wilson said. "All the other types of domestic situations, a lot of people don't connect them with domestic violence because he or she didn't place them under physical harm."

These situations are just as dangerous for people in abusive relationships, officers said.

"You degrade somebody for so long, they do whatever the aggressor wants them to do," Ford said.

"If the aggressor takes control of the finances, they can say, ‘If you leave me, you won't be able to take care of yourself.'"