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WMUR March 8, 2022 A task force report commissioned after a New Hampshire woman was shot and nearly killed in November by a man she had tried to get a permanent restraining order against is getting a mixed reaction.
"One of the recommendations asks a legislative committee to look at the judicial review process," said Lynn Schollett, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. "That's important and that's exciting because we know there are judicial review best practices in other states that we can mirror here in New Hampshire." WMUR February 17, 2022 "As offenders have more access to technology, it's a new way for them to hide. It's a new way for them to reach out to minors,” Lyn Schollett, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said.
The effects of falling victim can last a lifetime, but help is available, and healing is possible, according to Schollett. "The great news is trained advocates are available at crisis centers throughout New Hampshire to help talk with parents about how to have age-appropriate conversations with their children to keep them safe,” Schollett said. WMUR February 14, 2022 In the wake of the arrest of a former Colby-Sawyer College assistant basketball coach accused of the sexual abuse of minors, victims' advocates are speaking out.
"Unfortunately, abusers often hide behind titles or positions in their family or their community in an effort to cover up or have people not believe that they actually committed the really hideous underlying crimes," Lyn Schollett, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said. In the wake of the arrest of a former Colby-Sawyer College assistant basketball coach accused of the sexual abuse of minors, victims' advocates are speaking out. If judges issue bad rulings and people die, should the courts pass the disciplinary gavel?1/27/2022
USA Today Network January 27, 2022 NBC News' investigation found many states privately reprimand judges more than they do publicly. Out of thousands of judicial misconduct complaints filed with oversight commissions across the country between 2016 and 2020, roughly 1 percent resulted in public discipline or judge resignations, according to the investigation.
Data like that is why Lyn Schollett, the executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said she wasn't surprised the state Supreme Court tapped an internal panel to review Hall's decision to deny the protective order against Lorman. The panel included one member of the state's judicial conduct committee who has federal experience and served as president of the state bar, three judicial branch colleagues of Hall's, the administrator of the circuit courts, and a staff attorney who provides "advice and support" to circuit court judges, according to the group's final report. “It’s not objective and it wasn’t done from an outside perspective,” said Schollett. "It was a hard report for advocates to read." Concord Monitor January 24. 2022 Amanda Grady-Sexton, Director of Public Affairs for New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said she feels that the imbalance of the interests of crime victims against the rights of the accused in New Hampshire’s justice system regularly results in re-traumatization. She said that “if the goal of a criminal trial is to seek truth and determine the accused’s innocence or guilt, the New Hampshire legislature should support evidence-based efforts that help victims and witnesses provide clear and coherent testimony, including the use of a discreet service animal in the courtroom.”
Concord Monitor January 22,2022 A re-introduced House Bill would criminalize the practice of sending explicit images of oneself to another person without the recipient’s consent, making the practice of “cyber-flashing” a misdemeanor.
Lyn Schollett, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, testified in support of HB 1388 on Friday. Schollett said the Coalition worked to develop the newest bill’s language. She described the bill as solving a “loophole” in the law that punishes the sending of unwanted sexual images to kids under 16, but not to older teens or adults. “We believe that it's appropriate for this to be an offense, but at a lower level than it would be if the images were sent to a minor,” she said. “Receiving an unsolicited sexual image is disarming. It can be frightening, it can be alarming, and it also is often used by abusers as part of the grooming process,” Schollett said. Grooming refers the process of slowly gaining the trust of a victim as a precursor to abuse. Concord Monitor January 22, 2022 New Hampshire violence prevention advocates like Pamela Keilig, public policy specialist for the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, say the bill, HB1533, could have a significant impact on preventing sexual violence in New Hampshire, where one in four women and one in 20 men have reported being sexually assaulted, according to the coalition.
“Because of this education, students have come to understand what healthy relationship dynamics look like and learn how to identify unhealthy relationships and grooming behaviors, all important skills that will have long-lasting impacts on their development as they grow into mature adults,” Keilig told lawmakers. “What this legislation proposes will only improve our response as a state to ending sexual violence as we continue to maximize our efforts to prevent abuse before it occurs.” Associated Press January 21, 2022 The task force, which is chaired by Supreme Court Associate Justice Anna Barbara Hantz, is looking at existing court “practice and procedure” in cases involving domestic violence allegations; analyzing the status of state law regarding domestic violence, including the legal definition of “abuse” and its relationship to intimate partner violence; and exploring opportunities to give victims more access to lawyers and victim advocates, among other subjects.
The group is scheduled to release its report by March 1. It includes representatives from the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, law enforcement, prosecutors, defense counsel and others. Laconia Daily Sun December 10, 2021 “Crisis line volunteers are a lifeline throughout New Hampshire," said Lyn Schollett, executive director of NHCADSV. Their value can’t be overstated.
“Everyone usually knows someone who’s gone through domestic abuse,” Foster said. “We’re often the first person that someone talks to about their situation. If they’re getting support, encouragement and resources, their outcome can look very different.” The statistics on domestic and sexual abuse are sobering. According to data from NHCADSV, one in four men nationally report being assaulted by an intimate partner. In New Hampshire 33.4% of women have experienced violence from an intimate partner. Abuse can take the form of physical or sexual violence, psychological, emotional or verbal abuse, isolation or financial mistreatment or control. U.S. News & World Report/AP December 10, 2021 A task force created to review domestic violence cases in New Hampshire's court system has to report its conclusions and recommendations to the state's supreme court by March 1, 2022.
It was formed as the judicial branch reviewed the case of a woman who was shot, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, a month after a judge denied her request for a permanent protective order. The task force is being led by state Supreme Court Associate Justice Anna Barbara Hantz and include representatives from the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, law enforcement, prosecutors, defense counsel, and others. |
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