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Committee weighs adding coercive control and nonconsensual image offenses to domestic‑violence law
Summary
House Bill 15‑22 would expand the statutory definition of domestic violence to include coercive control and related noncriminal predicate acts (such as nonconsensual dissemination of private images); proponents cited escalation and lethal risk tied to control patterns, while critics warned about vagueness and risk of misapplication without narrow drafting and judicial training.
House Bill 15‑22, introduced by Representative Jay Markell, proposes adding coercive control and selected privacy‑invasion offenses to the list of predicate acts that can support a domestic‑violence protective order. Proponents said coercive control — a pattern of isolating, monitoring, controlling finances and movements, or using technology to surveil victims — often precedes physical harm.
Markell and supporters pointed to research and examples from other states that treat coercive control as part of an abuse pattern and argued New Hampshire’s statute should…
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