This book is designed to provide women of New Hampshire with information about some state and federal laws related to:
- domestic violence
- sexual assault
- stalking
- sexual harassment
- divorce
- child custody
- child support & paternity
- NH crime victims' rights
- NH victims' compensation
While this handbook may contain answers to legal questions, it is not a complete guide to the law and it will not replace the services of a lawyer. The goal of this handbook is to provide further knowledge of the law to women in the state. It is meant to serve as a starting point for women needing to take legal action for themselves and/or their families. This handbook is intended to inform women as to their rights within the law; the more they know, the more empowered they may become. No special legal training is required to use this handbook. It is designed so that virtually any woman can pick it up and find information that relates to her personally.
Finally, this handbook provides information on how to further investigate an issue. It also informs women on what resources are available to them and, in many instances, how to go about contacting these resources. The material in this handbook was current as of June 1997. It is possible that changes in legislation could come up at any time. Please contact the agencies involved if you have any questions about the material or to check that the laws described in this handbook have not changed.
Permission is granted for the reproduction of this handbook, provided that credit is given to the New Hampshire Commission on the Status of Women (NHCSW), which is grateful to the many individuals and organizations who were involved in its development. The advisory committee for this project includes the following: Kate Pedrone, Executive Director, NHCSW; Kara K. Miller, Intern, NHCSW; Kathy Beebe, Community Service Coordinator, Sexual Assault Support Services; Susan Forte-Blenkhorn, Resources Director, Task Force Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; Judy Elliott, Commissioner, NHCSW; Charlotte Guyer, Chief Staff Attorney, New Hampshire Division of Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement; Kristin Lamont, Program Director, New Hampshire AmeriCorps Victim Assistance Program; Sandra Matheson, Director Office of Victim-Witness Assistance, New Hampshire Department of Justice; Lynda Ruel, Victim-Witness Advocate, New Hampshire State Police; Elizabeth Sayre, Executive Director, Women's Crisis Services of the Monadnock Region; Susan Stearns, Program Specialist, New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.
Other individuals and organizations who also contributed to this handbook include: Melissa Cordner, Kelly Desmarais, Attorney Janet F. De Vito, Attorney Robert R. Howard III, Deborah Luppold, Attorney Marilyn T. Mahoney, Susan McKevitt, Raymond Perry, Olivia A. Ruel, PhD, Katie Dunn, MPH, Mary Searles, Kristin Spanos, Jane Stapleton, the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and the 14 statewide crisis centers. We also want to acknowledge those who took time to edit and review previous drafts for accuracy.
The Commission on the Status of Women would like to especially thank Kara K. Miller, without whose time, effort, and patience, the creation of this handbook would not have been possible.
The funding of A Legal Handbook for Women in New Hampshire has been made possible by a grant from the New Hampshire Bar Foundation's Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program New Hampshire Bar Foundation and funds from Violence Against Women Act.
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