Union Leader                                                                                                        October 8, 2020

Amanda Grady Sexton, public affairs director for the coalition, said the guidelines were written without input from her organization, crisis centers or victim-witness advocates in prosecutors’ offices.
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She said she is not surprised by the Cheshire County victim’s decision. Victims grapple with such feelin

Union Leader                                                                                                            October 8, 2020

Union Leader                                                                                        October 5, 2020

The New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence believes the court should rethink whether to livestream cases that involve intimate partners, said Amanda Grady Sexton, the organization’s director of public affairs.
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In most trials, judges can take steps to protect victims, and the media is willing to not publicize names and images of sexual assault victims, she said. That protection is lost in a livestream.

Concord Monitor                                                                                                September 26, 2020

​“Prior to this legislation, statutes in New Hampshire limited survivors of sexual assault to seek justice within an arbitrary timeframe,” said Pamela Keilig, public policy specialist at the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, in an emailed statement. “With the passage of this bill, that is no longer the case.”

Concord Monitor                                                                                                   September 4, 2020

Union Leader                                                                                                                           July 20, 2020

CONCORD — Gov. Chris Sununu called on a one-term Republican state representative to resign immediately following his arrest on domestic violence charges. According to published reports, Robert L. Forsythe, 38, was arrested last June 28 with local police accusing him of choking an intimate partner who was pregnant. He’s out on bail following his arrest on felony and misdemeanor domestic violence charges.
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New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence’s Karin Ashton said in a statement: “These egregious crimes he has been charged with include strangulation, which is a particularly lethal form of abuse and is known to be a common precursor to domestic violence homicide. All perpetrators must be held accountable, but elected officials who work on legislation that impacts public safety must be held to the highest standards in order to uphold the integrity of our laws and have the trust of their constituents.”

NHPR             ​                                                                                                                     July 20, 2020

Gov. Chris Sununu has signed a bill that aims to support sexual assault survivors at colleges and universities. 

John Gabrieli is the director of the Every Voice Coalition, a student and survivor-led organization that wrote the language in the bill. Sophia Miller is a Dartmouth student organizer who helped bring the Coalition’s work to New Hampshire.

They joined NHPR's All Things Considered Host Peter Biello to talk about the bill.
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Yahoo News -The Patch                                                                                                   July 20, 2020
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CONCORD, NH — New Hampshire's governor signed two bills into law addressing sexual assault, misconduct, and other related offenses as well as closing a loophole in state law which allowed persons of authority to abuse young people in their care. 

"The bills signed today represent the most sweeping collective improvements to laws regarding child abuse and domestic and sexual assault in recent history," Grady Sexton said. "This legislation could not be timelier. Expanding vital protections, services, and support, especially amidst this global pandemic, will improve the lives of survivors, who are under incredible pressure and danger due to the fallout of COVID-19."

​Concord Monitor                                                                                                                  July 20, 2020

Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill Monday to ban sexual contact between school employees and students, which closes the loophole in New Hampshire allowing behavior that was once perceived to be consensual.

House Bill 1240 expands the definition of sexual assault to include any sexual contact between school employees and students between the ages 13 and 18. It’s also a crime to engage in such behavior for 10 months after graduation.

Previously, sexual contact between a teacher or guidance counselor and a youth aged 16 to 17, while against a professional code of conduct, could be considered consensual and not a crime.

​“Many of Howie Leung’s behaviors should have led to immediate termination, but like many predators, Howie Leung worked hard to be well-liked and, as a result, the staff at the Concord School District kept giving him breaks and even special treatment,” said Amanda Grady Sexton, public affairs director for the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. “Predators want to make sure that if a child accuses them of abuse, their co-workers and the community will quickly come to their defense and say, ‘There is no way he did this, he is such a nice guy.’ ”


According to the report, former superintendent Terri Forsten and Sica did not properly investigate sexual misconduct complaints or discipline Leung to ensure student safety. Both resigned this past fall after the school board reviewed an unredacted copy of the report and voted to terminate them.