ENhanced Protections for Victims of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Take Effect in New Year

December 23, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Pamela Keilig, [email protected]

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.