September 16, 2020

ATLANTA -  The Georgia Commission on Family Violence (GCFV) recognizes leaders in social justice who work for the betterment of women in Georgia through the Gender Justice Award. 

This year’s Gender Justice Award recipient is Lee Giordano. 

Recipients of this award are chosen based on their history of increasing safety for victims and survivors of domestic violence, enhancing accountability of batterers, and making systemic changes to laws in Georgia – all to eliminate gender inequality.

“The Commission is thrilled to recognize Lee Giordano as the 2020 Gender Justice Award recipient. Mr. Giordano has  exhibited incredible leadership and service to our state through his advocacy efforts. It is so vital to have the voices of men contributing to the work and supporting the efforts to bring meaningful change. Mr. Giordano embodies our collective mission and never hesitates to answer the call to action. We are grateful for his work in Georgia and the passion he brings to ending intimate partner violence,” said Stephanie Woodard, Chair of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence.

Lee Giordano is a violence prevention advocate interested in building and sustaining communities of men dedicated to ending male violence against women. As the Director of Training and Education at Men Stopping Violence, Lee designs, organizes, and conducts trainings, workshops and webinars on oppression and violence against women. Lee has trained and presented hundreds of workshops to various community and government organizations. Notable past trainings include trainings on patriarchy, violence against women, ableism, intersectionality, and antiracism.  He has conducted webinars on community accountability, Community-Based Solutions to Preventing Male Violence Against Women, and a mobilizing men series which included webinars entitled, “Women’s Voices and Experiences Must be Central to the Work” and “We are the Work.” Lee has presented nationally as an expert in organizing men to end male violence against women. He has also made appearances on numerous radio and television programs including on Al Jazeera America’s flagship program, America Tonight, HLN’s Weekend Express, and CNN’s New Day. Lee also participated in the United States State Department’s Speakers Program in Mauritius and Seychelles. 

For 20 years, Lee has facilitated batterer intervention classes with Men Stopping Violence (MSV). With this experience, he provides training and consulting on intervention programs with men. Lee co-developed many of the programs, curriculum and trainings currently being provided by MSV. He also co-authored MSV’s Men At Work: Building Safe Communities curriculum, and the training that coincides with that curriculum. Most recently, Lee facilitated the development of MSV’s Mobilizing Men to Prevent Violence Against Women training.

In response to  receiving the award, Lee stated, “I'm honored to receive the Georgia Commission on Family Violence Gender Justice award. For me, this award validates my work at Men Stopping Violence engaging men and communities to create safety for women and girls. As domestic violence rises due to the coronavirus pandemic and as we mobilize to address racial injustice, engaging men is more important than ever.”

A graduate of Georgia State University with a Bachelors of Science in sociology and a minor in women’s studies, Lee received his master’s degree in social justice education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

The Commission’s 26th annual family violence conference was held virtually for the first time on September 14-16, 2020. The theme of this year’s conference was Crafting a Coordinated Community Response: Working Together to Address Family Violence. More than 500 local and national stakeholders attended the sold out conference, including judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, advocates, survivors, faith leaders, counselors and community members.

About GCFV: The Georgia Commission on Family Violence, created by The Georgia General Assembly in 1992, is charged with developing a comprehensive state plan for ending family violence in Georgia. If you or someone that you know is being impacted by domestic violence, call 1-800-334-2836 to speak with a domestic violence advocate.


Press Contact: April Ross, [email protected]