Four Things You Should Know About Massachusetts’ New Coercive Control Law

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On June 20, 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed into law Bill H.4744, also known as ‘An Act to Prevent Abuse and Exploitation.’ The primary goal of the bill is to expand protection capabilities for survivors of abuse by classifying coercive control and digital exploitation as forms of domestic violence. However, there are several other components of the bill which are also worth mentioning, and which we have detailed below.

Restraining Orders for Non-physical Abuse

As many survivors sadly know already, not all forms of domestic abuse are physical. Non-physical forms of abuse such as emotional abuse, financial abuse, verbal abuse, and cultural abuse can be just as harmful to survivors, and yet they’re often not as easy to spot as physical abuse. Bill H.4744 addresses this by listing non-physical forms of abuse as grounds for obtaining a restraining order.

If you’d like to learn more about how restraining orders work, be sure to read our blog post on restraining order myths and facts.

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Addressing Deepfakes Along With Revenge Porn

Another major component of Bill H.4744 is the criminalization of non-consensual sharing of explicit images or videos (also known as “revenge porn”). The bill also specifically addresses computer-generated images, known as “deepfakes,” which are even more dangerous since they’re typically manufactured using non-sexual images of the victim (again, without their knowledge or consent).

Revenge porn is a tactic abusers sometimes use to maintain their sense of power and control, so it’s heartening to see Bill H.4744 both addressing it directly and also accounting for newer developments like the use of deepfakes.

Extended Statute of Limitations for Domestic Violence Offenses

For some survivors, it can take a long time for them to reach a point where they’re comfortable pursuing criminal charges against their abuser. For others, the specific nature of their case means that criminal proceedings can drag on for months if not years.

In both cases, the statute of limitations shouldn’t allow abusers to get off on a technicality. This is why Bill H.4744 extends the statute of limitations for certain domestic violence offenses from six years to 15 years, matching the same statute of limitations for crimes involving rape, assault with intent to commit rape, and sex trafficking.

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Educating Minors on the Dangers of Sexting

Here at REACH, helping survivors of domestic violence is just one part of our overall mission. We also recognize that an important part of changing social norms and ending domestic violence for good is educating people across a diverse array of age groups and backgrounds. This is why we’re happy to see that another integral part of Bill H.4744 is the creation of a diversion program specifically focused on teaching minors about the dangers of sexting.

Under Bill H.4744, minors charged with possessing or distributing nude images of other minors can still be tried as juveniles in Juvenile Court. The new law also requires the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to encourage school districts to implement age-appropriate education resources on media literacy and the dangers of sexting. This emphasis on early education ties into REACH’s work involving teen dating violence and how youth-focused prevention programs can help children and teens identify and properly respond to domestic or dating violence in their lives.