|
“Today, we are taking concrete steps to save lives,” said Lyn Schollett, executive director at the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.
“With the creation of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee, we are acknowledging what survivors have long known: that the answers to prevention lie in listening,” she said. Amanda Grady Sexton, director of public affairs at the coalition, said the organization will join the family and friends of Fuentes next year to advocate for more legislation to strengthen domestic violence laws. Boston Globe July 29, 2025 “As we work to build a safer Granite State, we’re grateful to Governor Ayotte for prioritizing the voices of survivors and for bringing together legislators, advocates, and public officials to highlight the importance of these critical public safety bills,” Amanda Grady Sexton, director of public affairs for the NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said in a statement.
Union Leader July 28, 2025 "So, let today stand as a powerful reminder that real change is possible when we center survivors and we commit to action," said Lyn Schollett, of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed nearly a dozen bills into law Monday aimed at offering more protections for victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and child sex abuse crimes. WMUR July 28, 2025 “We need to do reviews with every part of the system -- law enforcement -- with attorneys who are supporting victims, with judges, with the courts,” said Lyn Schollett with the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence.
“This is the most lethal crime in the state of New Hampshire, so it is imperative that every part of our system look at how we can improve responding to it,“ Schollett said. Schollett says there needs to be more transparency across the judicial system, increased training, and dedicated judges for domestic violence similar to drug courts. “What we know is this crime is a pattern crime with very specific indicators for lethality, and judges deserve to have the tools that they need to make the best decisions in these cases,” she said. Schollett says the review must have teeth and that the findings should lead to lasting reforms. WCAX July 22, 2025 New Hampshire Committee Seeks to Prevent Domestic Fatalities like Murder-Suicide in Berlin7/21/2025
Pamela Keilig, public policy specialist with the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said domestic violence fatality reviews are just one of many tools that should be used in the aftermath of devastating incidents, like the murder-suicide in Berlin.
“Domestic violence and fatalities like this just really shake a community, and during a time like this, everyone is looking for answers and wants to understand why something happened,” Keilig said. “So this is a very useful avenue for that conversation to happen and ensure that it's done in a very thorough, strategic and thoughtful manner.” “I think domestic violence is 100% preventable,” said Keilig. “What we saw in Berlin is preventable, but I think there's, there's more than one thing that needs to be improved on in order to ensure that future incidents like this won't happen again.” Concord Monitor July 19, 2025 The coalition also noted that Fuentes had already gone to civil court looking for help and protection. Lyn Schollett, of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said the committee is not about pointing fingers at who might have dropped the ball, but rather looking at the systematic failures that lead to Fuentes' death.
"But we can't point to just one thing," Schollett said. "We need to take the time to look at all of the systems that respond to victims and are charged with protecting community safety, because maybe there's more than one thing we can do here. Maybe there are multiple places that we can improve community safety and prevent future homicides." WMUR July 14, 2025 The state had 118 reported trafficking cases in the state in 2024, according to the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Of those, 105 involved sex trafficking and 13 were related to labor trafficking.
In 2023, 95 total cases were reported, with 87 tied to sex trafficking. Meg Chant, the program director for the Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual violence, explained that one of the biggest obstacles to identifying trafficking is the public’s misunderstanding of what the trafficking of women, men and children actually looks like. “A lot of people think, ‘I haven’t been kidnapped, I haven’t been chained up, so this isn’t trafficking.’ But it’s far more quotidian than people realize,” Chant said. Chant explained that human trafficking is the “exploitation of one person by another for commercial gain using force, fraud or coercion.” “If someone is unable to leave a situation where they are — where there are services, whether that’s labor or sex, being used for commercial benefit, then that’s trafficking,” said Chant. Concord Monitor July 11, 2025 Illicit Massage Businesses Still 'Operating in Plain Sight,' N.H. Police and Nonprofit Leaders Say7/11/2025
The Coalition notched a legislative victory on this topic last month, when lawmakers approved a plan to impose felony penalties on landlords and other people who “knowingly” allow a place under their control to be used for prostitution.
Meg Chant, a Coalition program director, said law enforcement had reported seeing more illicit massage businesses migrate over the state line after Massachusetts imposed stiffer penalties, so the change in New Hampshire aims to mitigate that. Looking ahead to the next legislative session, the Coalition will push again to reform licensing laws to improve oversight of massage businesses, an idea that has faltered repeatedly in past sessions. “The way that it works right now is that, in New Hampshire, the individual massage therapists are licensed, but the business itself is not,” Chant said, “so that leaves a gap where ultimately if there are any infractions, it’s falling to the individual massage therapists — who, in these cases, are the victims — and it’s very difficult for regulators to go in and do routine checks and get into these businesses to see if there are signs that it’s not a legitimate business.” Boston Globe July 11, 2025 “We applaud the Town of Salem for being so receptive to a commonsense request from a victim who needs their privacy protected,” said Pamela Keilig, public policy specialist for the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. “Towns should be responsive and flexible when dealing with policies that could impact a person's safety. All municipalities should have a mechanism in place to allow for special considerations in cases where a person's right to privacy outweighs the public's need for information."
For towns that don’t have similar policies in place, victims and survivors of sexual or domestic violence can apply for the Address Confidentiality Program, which is run by the state, Keilig said. Participants in the program designate the Attorney General as their legal agent for service for legal documents and receipt of mail. “It is so important that victims know there are resources and support available to them in their communities,” Keilig said. Eagle Tribune July 10, 2025 Meg Chant, program director of The Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, described what the fronts may look like.
"They might have boarded up windows, they might have operating hours that are not what you would expect for an above board massage establishment," Chant said. Representatives from the Coalition said they will be working closely with the Human Trafficking Collaborative Task Force to push for a statewide licensing process for massage businesses. "We'll also be working with landlords and property owners to raise awareness and help prevent traffickers from operating under the radar," Coalition representatives said in a news release. "This is a critical moment to move from enforcement to long-term prevention — and we’re committed to helping lead that effort." Chant said this work is needed to get victims out of these traumatic environments and onto the road towards healing. "Glad to see the Department of Justice working to shut down illicit massage businesses and then looking ahead to continued enforcement and prevention as we move forward," she said. WMUR July 11, 2025 |
Archives
October 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed
Our Supporting Partners
The 12 member programs of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence provide services to all victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence, human trafficking, stalking, and child abuse.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Funding for this website was provided by The Corporate Fund.
New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
PO Box 353, Concord, NH 03302-0353
(603) 224-8893
New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
PO Box 353, Concord, NH 03302-0353
(603) 224-8893
NH web design by Harbour Light Strategic Marketing