Massachusetts just became the seventh state in the country to pass legislation classifying coercive control as a form of domestic violence.
Gov. Maura Healey during 2023 Massachusetts Conference for Women on Dec. 14, 2023 in Boston. Healey signed legislation Thursday morning that bans revenge pornography and cracks down on coercive control by domestic abusers. “essential protections for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence across the Commonwealth.”
Attorney Jamie Sabino of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute said the survivor and expert testimony that influenced legislators “spelled out the lifetime and generational harm caused by coercive control. Non-physical abuse like revenge porn, which is a form of technology abuse, is typically a precursor to more serious and violent acts, including sexual and physical assault or homicide.”
Subsequent revisions could also close “the boyfriend loophole,” which is a possible sticky point, since this current law covers “family or household members.” It may not apply to all cases in which members of a couple have not ever lived together, are not married, and do not share children.), among others.
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