In Landmark Decision, New Hampshire Supreme Court Bolsters Privacy Rights for Victims and Patients5/1/2025
May 1, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: Amanda Grady Sexton [email protected] Alyssa Dandrea [email protected] Today, for the first time, the NH Supreme Court applied Article 2-b, Right of Privacy, a 2018 state constitutional amendment on privacy, giving people seeking counseling and victim advocacy services groundbreaking protections for their confidential records. Building a trusting, private relationship with a counselor or advocate is foundational to healing for crime victims. Unfortunately, criminal defendants have frequently used victims’ confidential records to intimidate and embarrass victims—and to deter them from disclosing abuse, reporting crimes and seeking justice. NH has long had statutes protecting the confidentiality of crisis center and therapy records. However, courts frequently overlook the required process when those records are sought. Victims are often not told that that their records are being requested and are not given an opportunity to rely on the laws that protect them. Instead, courts often issue orders that such records be handed over without the victim even being informed. That is exactly what happened in the underlying case. Background on the Case: The defendant in this case is being prosecuted in Belknap County for sexually assaulting a minor victim. Following a Grand Jury indictment, the defendant filed a motion seeking access to the victim’s confidential crisis center and mental health records. The victim was not given notice or an opportunity to object to this request; instead, a Superior Court judge issued an order requiring counselors and advocates to turn over their records for review by the court. The victim, represented by Nixon Peabody, LLP, moved to intervene and requested that the trial court suspend its orders. The Superior Court judge, however, ruled that the victim had to turn over her records. The victim appealed the lower court’s decision to the NH Supreme Court, which issued a decision in the case on May 1. In a unanimous opinion, the NH Supreme Court vacated the trial court’s ruling, raising the standards for accessing records and finding that any person whose privileged records are sought must be given notice and an opportunity to be heard before the court rules. Significant Engagement by NH and National Partners: Due to its groundbreaking nature, this case garnered significant involvement from the victim advocacy and mental health fields. The New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence filed an amicus brief in this case in partnership with the state’s 12 crisis centers, the National Crime Victim Law Institute, the Confidentiality Institute, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence. The NH Community Behavioral Health Association also filed an amicus brief in support of the victim’s rights. The Supreme Court used a 2018 Constitutional Amendment to overturn its own prior case law that made it easier for defendants to access confidential records. Now, courts are required to engage in a specific process that involves the victim/patient before making any decision about reviewing or disclosing those records. Reaction to NH Supreme Court Opinion: The New Hampshire Supreme Court resoundingly declared that victims and those seeking services from mental health providers have a constitutional right to privacy and a right to be heard when that right is at issue in a case. Victims will no longer have to choose between their privacy rights and their ability to seek help from critical support services. NH Coalition’s Executive Director Lyn Schollett: “The outrageous practice of accessing victims’ irrelevant, personal information ends today. Granite staters who have experienced violent crimes and heinous losses can walk into the office of a crisis center or a therapist without fear that their conversations will become public. They can slowly rebuild trust, and their lives, with the privacy they deserve." David Vicinanzo, Attorney for the Victim and Partner at Nixon Peabody, LLP: “Today, the Supreme Court has removed a major obstacle to justice for the victim in this case and for many others, especially women and children victimized by sexual assault or domestic violence. For decades, an erroneous interpretation of ‘due process’ has permitted perpetrators to have easy access to the mental health records of victims of these crimes, to then cherry pick and use to attack the victims for disclosing the abuse, as if victims of sexual or child abuse were presumed to be ‘crazy.’ The mere fear of having one’s privileged therapy or medical treatment records accessed by the defendant and made public was an invasion of privacy that deterred many victims from seeking justice because the system punished them for coming forward. “In this landmark ruling, the Court curtailed that practice by limiting access to such records to the rarest of circumstances. Now, the mental health and counseling privileges will be protected at the same level as the attorney-client privilege is protected. Victims of crime will be free to seek mental health treatment they may need or want. And criminal defendants will no longer have easy access to rummage through the privileged medical and mental health records of their victims, almost all of whom were women or children in sexual or domestic crimes.” Hilary Holmes Rheaume, Attorney for NH Coalition Amicus Brief and Shareholder at Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, P.A.: “Today marks a profound moment for victims across the country, and especially here in New Hampshire. For too long, our justice system has emphasized a defendant’s rights while placing victims in the defendant's shadow. With today’s decision, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has affirmed that victims have a fundamental right to be notified and heard—particularly when their privacy is at stake. This is a win for all victims of sexual assault, who now have protections that did not exist before today.” Other sources: Brief of the NH Community Behavioral Health Association: “The self-limiting effect stigma can have on an individual’s ability to continue mental health treatment is particularly at issue where the individual is confronted with the risk of disclosure of her records. Here, the risk of disclosure presents not only a potential barrier to continued treatment, but a risk of re-traumatization by the Court process itself.” Ilene Seidman & Susan Vickers, The Second Wave: An Agenda for the Next Thirty Years of Rape Law Reform, 38 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 467, 473 (2005): “For most sexual assault victims, privacy is like oxygen; it is a pervasive, consistent need at every step of recovery. Within the context of the legal system, if a victim is without privacy, all other remedies are moot.” About the Coalition: NHCADSV is a statewide network of 12 independent member programs committed to ending sexual violence, domestic violence, and stalking, through direct services to victims, community education, and public policy advocacy. March 12, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Today, we express our deep gratitude to Senator Jeanne Shaheen as she announces her decision not to seek reelection in 2026. For decades, Senator Shaheen has been a tireless advocate for survivors of domestic and sexual violence and at the forefront of anti-violence work, both in New Hampshire and across the nation. Year after year, her leadership has been instrumental in securing critical funding for victim services, including record levels of support for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs. We are especially grateful for her unwavering support of local crisis centers in New Hampshire, ensuring they have the resources to be a vital lifeline for survivors. “Senator Shaheen’s leadership in the Senate has changed the landscape of domestic and sexual violence advocacy, and her legacy will continue to inspire our work,” said Amanda Grady Sexton, the Coalition’s Director of Public Affairs. “As Senator Shaheen concludes her decades of service, her legacy will be defined by her unwavering commitment and dedication to the survivors who needed her most.” About the Coalition: NHCADSV is a statewide network of 12 independent member programs committed to ending sexual violence, domestic violence, and stalking, through direct services to victims, community education, and public policy advocacy. February 6, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Alyssa Dandrea, [email protected] On Friday, February 7 at 11:30 a.m. the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will hold a public hearing on HB700, relative to orders of protection. The Coalition strongly opposes this bill, which weakens New Hampshire’s stalking statute and makes it easier for stalkers to terrorize and even kill their victims. HB700 will make it harder for judges to remove deadly weapons if there is no evidence of domestic violence in civil stalking cases. Nationally, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men are stalked in their lifetimes, with the majority of victims experiencing physical threats to their safety. In New Hampshire, hundreds of victims of stalking access life-saving services every year through the Coalition’s 12 community-based crisis centers. Coalition Director of Public Affairs Amanda Grady Sexton said, “HB700, now commonly known as the ‘Stalkers’ Empowerment Act,’ gives dangerous stalkers easier access to deadly weapons. Voters have been clear that they want their elected officials to focus on passing laws that improve public safety. The general public does not support bills like HB700 that will empower and embolden criminals.” All forms of stalking are dangerous. The idea that stalking is somehow less dangerous outside the context of domestic violence is extremely harmful and ignores the very real experiences of victims in our state. Perpetrators use a virtually endless array of tactics to stalk their victims and are adept at changing their tactics in response to introduced restrictions such as protective orders. This reality resonates with the VanDalinda family whose father and dog were killed in a brutal attack by a stalker who deliberately ran them over with her truck. The family plans to appear before the House committee on Friday morning to oppose HB700 to send a strong message that this bill is insulting to victims, and the legislature should not be giving it the time of day. About the Coalition: NHCADSV is a statewide network of 12 independent member programs committed to ending sexual violence, domestic violence, and stalking, through direct services to victims, community education, and public policy advocacy. ENhanced Protections for Victims of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Take Effect in New Year12/23/2024
The New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence marks another successful year in the state legislature, championing important initiatives for victims of abuse.
On January 1, 2025, several key bills will become law that will improve protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the Granite State. These bills —HB261, HB1038, SB359, SB564, and HB1319—reflect continued statewide collaborations to enhance public safety in the areas of domestic violence, housing, child sexual exploitation, and artificial intelligence. “New Hampshire legislators understand that their constituents care deeply about public safety. Protecting victim’s rights and holding offenders accountable are issues that we continue to see broad bipartisan support for,” said Amanda Grady Sexton, the Coalition’s Director of Public Affairs. “The unfortunate reality is that thousands of adults and children are impacted by abuse in the Granite State every year. We are grateful to the elected officials who have worked to pass critical policies that will improve our state’s response to domestic and sexual violence. As we look toward 2025, we hope legislators will continue to work across the aisle to find solutions that will improve public safety and ensure that victims of crime have strong legal protections and adequate resources.” HB261 expands housing protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in two important ways: It allows victims to break a lease when seeking to leave an abusive situation and strengthens rights for victims who are at risk of being evicted. This is a monumental step in ensuring that New Hampshire law mirrors best practice when addressing the unique safety needs of survivors and their children in order to prevent homelessness. HB1038 clarifies that sex offenders cannot work with children or volunteer in activities that involve supervision or one-on-one interactions, including as teachers, school administrators, guidance counselors, coaches, scout leaders, and camp counselors. This new law will ensure that someone with a history of sexual violence does not have direct authority over a minor, creating additional safeguards that will improve the safety of children. SB359 raises the legal age of marriage from 16 to 18. Children who are married face an increased risk of abuse, whether physical, emotional, or even economic. As a state, we have a responsibility to protect children from harm, and this law is an important step in our statewide efforts to prevent abuse. SB564 and HB1319 seek to address the growing issue of artificial intelligence being used to perpetrate sexual violence in our state. SB564 closes a gap in New Hampshire’s child sexual abuse images statute, RSA 649-A:2, making it illegal for pedophiles to produce child sexual abuse images that are indistinguishable from a photograph of a real child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. This law will help prevent the sexual exploitation of children and ensure that offenders who create these images are held accountable. HB1319 expands the ban on the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images by creating a definition for synthetic images, also known as “deepfakes.” Further, it makes it illegal to post or share these images electronically with the intent to harass, intimidate, threaten, or coerce the depicted person. The use of artificial intelligence to make computer-generated videos or images is becoming increasingly common, yet nearly all deepfake content is non-consensual and is a form of sexual exploitation. Both SB564 and HB1319 come at a crucial time when it is becoming increasingly harder to identify real images from fake ones. These laws symbolize a significant step to protect people’s privacy and safety in the digital age. NHCADSV is a statewide network of 12 independent member programs committed to ending sexual violence, domestic violence, and stalking, through direct services to victims, community education, and public policy advocacy. The NHCADSV and its 12 member programs do not discriminate based on gender, age, health status (including HIV-positive), physical, mental, or emotional ability, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, socio-economic status, race, national origin, immigration status, or religious or political affiliation. City and community partners secure ARPA funds for purchase of Emily’s Place building Press Release from the Office of Mayor Jay Ruais October 8, 2024 Mayor Jay Ruais announced today that the city and its community partners have secured $600,000 from the state in unobligated ARPA funds for the purchase of the building housing Emily’s Place. The domestic violence shelter had been in danger of closing when its crisis services operators REACH and the YWCA ended their partnership. REACH has joined with Bridges: Domestic and Sexual Violence Support for leadership and fiscal oversight until REACH becomes an independent, nonprofit organization.
Amanda Grady Sexton, Director of Public Affairs at the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence spoke about the importance of finding the necessary funding for Emily ‘s Place, "When there was the possibility we could lose a critical emergency shelter, the Governor's Office, GOFERR, the State Legislature, and the Executive Council each did their part to ensure that funding would be available so that victims and children fleeing domestic violence would not be displaced. We're especially grateful to Mayor Ruais for his advocacy efforts on this project and for understanding the importance of maintaining life-saving services for victims of abuse in the Manchester community," she said. Press Release from Governor Chris Sununu May 31, 2024 Today, Governor Chris Sununu issued the following statement regarding HB 1003, relative to name changes for inmates, parolees, and convicted felons:
“It is our shared responsibility to provide for the protection of the most vulnerable among us, especially children and victims of violent crime,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “In signing this bill, the State of New Hampshire is safeguarding victim rights by increasing notification requirements to victims and their families.” “We are grateful to Governor Sununu for recognizing the significance of this legislation, which will put important safeguards in place to ensure violent offenders can’t simply erase their past and escape accountability through a name change,” said Amanda Grady Sexton, Director of Public Affairs, NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. “We were honored to support several courageous survivors in advocating for the passage of HB1003 this session and are thankful to the lawmakers who heard survivors’ stories and worked with them to make this critical change to state law.” May 29, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Alyssa Dandrea, [email protected] “We have nothing but admiration for the brave survivor who shared her truth and paved the way for so many other domestic violence victims to break their silence. This survivor endured 6 years of legal proceedings in a high-profile case brought against Mr. Woodburn, who was in a position of power with higher political ambitions,” said Amanda Grady Sexton, director of public affairs for the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. “We are grateful to the Attorney General’s Office for its work on this challenging case and for taking domestic violence seriously. It is important to note that the convictions of criminal mischief still stand, and it’s anticipated that Mr. Woodburn will serve jail time for those crimes.” May 22, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Amanda Grady Sexton, [email protected] Today, the NH Senate took a vital step in upholding statewide protections for victims by indefinitely postponing the vote on HB378. The House passed version of this bill would have inadvertently weakened New Hampshire’s survivor’s bill of rights and prevented child sexual assault victims from accessing critical medical care and treatment. This legislation would also have put more responsibility on survivors to collect and maintain their own evidence. “As a state, New Hampshire has consistently served as a national leader in advancing the rights of sexual assault victims and survivors, and we are grateful that the Senate continues to protect these important rights. We look forward to working with legislators in the future to continue to strengthen these rights so that we can maintain the strongest laws in the nation,” said the Coalition’s Director of Public Affairs Amanda Grady Sexton. Over half the states in the U.S. have adopted the very same language as current New Hampshire statute, which is in line with national best practice. HB378 conflicts with these best practices for providing trauma-informed and medically driven responses to sexual assault in New Hampshire and was strongly opposed by The Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the NH Department of Justice, the State Forensic Lab, the NH Sexual Assault Examiner Program, and members of law enforcement. We thank the Senate for their vote to support victims of crime. May 14, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Alyssa Dandrea, [email protected] Today, New Hampshire is set to join at least 24 other states in the country in enacting critical housing protections for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. By signing HB261 into law, Governor Sununu took an important step to ensure that victims and their children will no longer be forced to stay in a dangerous home. HB261 adds important updates to RSA 540, New Hampshire’s Tenancy Statute, that will allow victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking to break a lease in the private housing market. This law mitigates both the potential safety and financial risks of both landlords and victims, ensuring that a victim has avenues to leave an abusive situation, while also ensuring that landlords are not unnecessarily burdened by the sudden departure of a tenant. “There are many reasons a survivor may need to break their lease to maintain their safety. Everyday crisis center advocates and legal representatives across the state work with survivors who need support in fleeing violence or creating security within their homes. Advocates and attorneys know and understand that when housing survivors, there are exceptional considerations to be made including safety and confidentiality,” said Rachel Duffy, the Coalition’s Housing and Economic Justice Manager. “On behalf of our clients who are seeking to escape abusive relationships, we appreciate the protection this provides. The last thing survivors need to be worrying about is their housing,” said Dawn McKinney, Policy Director at New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA). Nationally and in New Hampshire, there are similar protections afforded to survivors within public housing under the expanded Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) protections reauthorized in 2022, but these protections do not extend to survivors in private and mainstream rentals. HB261 sets to equalize protections for all survivors in our state and is closely modeled from the protections outlined in VAWA. The Coalition and NHLA worked closely with numerous vested partners in the state, such as 603 Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Team, Survivor Advocates, Landlords, and National Partners (NNEDV). It truly was a collaborative effort, informed by the invaluable contributions of our partners who worked together to craft this substantial and critical legislation. About the Coalition: NHCADSV is a statewide network of 12 independent member programs committed to ending sexual violence, domestic violence, and stalking, through direct services to victims, community education, and public policy advocacy. The NHCADSV and its 12 member programs do not discriminate based on gender, age, health status (including HIV-positive), physical, mental, or emotional ability, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, socio-economic status, race, national origin, immigration status, or religious or political affiliation. Press Release from Governor Chris Sununu May 14, 2024 Today, Governor Chris Sununu issued the following statement after signing HB 261 into law, relative to rights of tenants in cases of domestic violence:
"New Hampshire is stepping up to protect survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking by ensuring they have the ability to live in safe environment without jumping through legal hurdles to do so," said Governor Chris Sununu. "I thank the stakeholders who came together to get this done!" "In New Hampshire we work together to pass common sense laws that provide protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking," said Amanda Grady Sexton, Director of Public Affairs for the NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. "HB 261 will allow victims of abuse to end their lease when their safety is at risk. Governor Sununu's signature on this bill will help ensure that victims and their children will no longer be forced to stay in a dangerous home." |
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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.
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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
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