U.S. News and World Report                                                                                 February 20, 2020

BY HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Sexual assault victims deserve the right to come forward when they are ready, survivors and other advocates told lawmakers Thursday in support of repealing New Hampshire's civil statute of limitations for such cases.

“We stand on the precipice of an important opportunity to open the door to justice for victims of sexual abuse,” said Lyn Schollett, director of the NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

Under current law, civil claims must be filed within three years of an assault if the victim was an adult, or by the victim's 30th birthday in cases involving children. The bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee would eliminate those timelines.
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​For more than two decades, David Ouellette did not disclose the sexual abuse he had suffered at the hands of his priest when he was just 15.

He silently lived with the pain until 2002, the same year the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team reported on sexual assault crimes and cover-up by the Boston Archdiocese. Ouellette was driving south on Interstate 93 while listening to National Public Radio, whose program hosts were discussing the church sexual abuse scandal.

“One of the guests said, ‘For the victims that haven’t come forward yet, others will be abused by the same person that hurt you,’ ” recalled Ouellette, of Manchester, in an interview Thursday morning near the State House.

WMUR                                                                                                                    February 20, 2020

Heavy.                                                                                                                        February  11, 2020

Washington, DC – Today, the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence, led by Representatives Annie Kuster (D-NH), Jackie Speier (D-CA), David Joyce (R-OH) and John Katko (R-NY), hosted a roundtable discussion on ensuring access to shelters and affordable housing for survivors of sexual and domestic violence. .
The Task Force was joined today by:
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-Marie Linebaugh, Program Director at the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
-Monica McLaughlin, Director of Public Policy at the National Network to End Domestic Violence
-Koube Ngaaje, Executive Director at the District Alliance for Safe Housing
-Sally Santangelo, Executive Director at CNY (Central New York) Fair Housing

The Concord Monitor                                                                                            February 6, 2020

Childhood sexual assault survivor Tina Smith is frustrated that issues central to the fight against domestic and sexual abuse – including economic empowerment, transitional housing and prevention education – are often absent from presidential candidates’ stump speeches and the national debate stage.

“My true passion is to make sure that what I experienced as a victim doesn’t happen to another little girl,” Smith said during a recent interview in her hometown of Concord. “I want to hear or know that they share my concerns.”
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Smith has been attending a series of candidate forums hosted by the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence since last summer. She has asked pointed questions and offered a little education, too.

The New York Times                                                                                                February 5, 2020

All that should be part of the attorney general’s investigation, said Lyn Schollett, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.
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“The prospect that an abusive adult continued to work with children for decades is incredibly alarming," she said. “It speaks to the need for ongoing training and oversight of any institution where children live.”