At Sanctuary for Families, an advocacy group for battered women, counselors are even preparing for an increase in abuse cases.
If this increase in abuse goes on, it could cause a big increase in the HIV infection rate - which thus far has been mercifully low in Georgia".
While Sutcliffe said that better reporting procedures were partly responsible for the increase in abuse allegations, she did raise concern at the "numbers of people directly affected".
Decreases were found in abuse of fentanyl (59percentt), oxycodone (29percentt) and hydromorphone (15percentt), while the only drug for which an increase in abuse was found was morphine (up 3percentt).
Our focus and attention should be on identifying ways to address the inappropriate prescribing of all opioids, which is driving the tragic increase in abuse and overdose deaths we have experienced in the past decade".
Three years ago the major UK disability charities warned the government that this focus on alleged fraud and "overclaiming" of disability benefits was causing an increase in abuse directed at disabled people.
A report from Médecins Sans Frontières this year detailed "a sharp increase in abuse, degrading treatment and violence" of the migrants by the police and by criminal gangs, including a "shocking" level of sexual violence.
A letter from Home Office minister Lord Bates, dated 9 February 2015, states: "We do not believe that there is persuasive evidence that the so-called tie to an individual employer has led to an increase in abuse.
Pentagon officials said today that while they had no figures to support the claim of an increase in abuse of gays, they would study the new report by the private group and investigate the incidents it cited.
Bella Sankey, director of policy at Liberty, said: "The evidence that the tied visa – a hallmark of repressive regimes the world over – has led to an increase in abuse of vulnerable women on our shores is damning".
