The Coalition Commends the Senate for Standing with Victims of Crime by Indefinitely Postponing HB378

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.