How to Get Help After Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault or Stalking

Where to call, how to make a safety plan, how to ask a court for a protective order, and what happens at the hospital after a sexual assault, with New Hampshire's free and confidential crisis centers.

Checked against its sources October 12, 2026.

On this page
Cite this page

This guide is written by Granite Record from the official pages it links to. Where a citation allows only one source, cite the official page for the part you rely on. The date below is the day the page was read.

MLA
“How to Get Help After Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault or Stalking.” Granite Record, https://graniterecord.org/guides/domestic-violence-help. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.
APA
Granite Record. (n.d.). How to Get Help After Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault or Stalking. Retrieved 25 Oct. 2026, from https://graniterecord.org/guides/domestic-violence-help
Chicago
Granite Record. “How to Get Help After Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault or Stalking.” Accessed 25 Oct. 2026. https://graniterecord.org/guides/domestic-violence-help.
BibTeX
@misc{guides-domestic-violence-help, title = {How to Get Help After Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault or Stalking}, howpublished = {Granite Record}, url = {https://graniterecord.org/guides/domestic-violence-help}, note = {Accessed 25 Oct. 2026} }

At a Glance

If you are in danger now, call 911. Otherwise, call New Hampshire’s 24-hour domestic and sexual violence helpline, 1-866-644-3574. It is free and confidential, it is open to everyone, and you do not need to be in crisis to call. An advocate from your local crisis center can help you make a safety plan, find shelter, get medical care and ask a court for a protective order, which costs nothing to file.

  1. In danger now? Call 911.
  2. Call the 24-hour helpline, 1-866-644-3574. It is free and confidential.

  3. What do you need?

    • Protection from someoneAsk the circuit court for a protective order. There is no fee, and you need no lawyer.
    • Care after a sexual assaultGo to a hospital. The exam is free, and you choose whether to report to the police.

Step by Step

  1. Reach someone now

    In an emergency, call 911.

    At any hour, call the statewide helpline, 1-866-644-3574. An answering service usually takes your first name and number, and an advocate from your local crisis center calls you back, generally in about 5 minutes. The advocates listen, explain your options and never pressure you. They can help with a safety plan, shelter, support groups, money, medical care, legal referrals and other services. The crisis centers serve victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, child abuse and human trafficking, and their services are free and confidential and open to all. If no advocate speaks Spanish, they use an interpreter.

    For sexual assault or stalking, you can also call 1-800-277-5570. Outside New Hampshire, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE, or RAINN for sexual assault, 1-800-656-HOPE.

    Find your local crisis center

  2. Make a safety plan

    A safety plan is a practical plan for your own situation: how to avoid danger and what to do if you are in danger. It helps while you are still with someone who is abusive, while you prepare to leave, and after you have left. Abusers may monitor calls and texts or track where you are, so a plan covers your phone and other technology too. Crisis center advocates help make or review a plan at any hour.

    Safety planning

  3. Ask the court for a protective order

    If a family or household member, or a current or former partner, has abused you, you can file a domestic violence petition at the circuit court where you or they live, or where you are staying if you left home to get away. The clerk has the forms. There is no filing fee, no fee to have the papers served, and you do not need a lawyer. A minor can ask for an order against a partner or former partner without a parent.

    • If you are in immediate danger, the court can make a temporary order without first telling the other person.
    • When the court is closed, go to or call the nearest police department; it does not have to be your own town’s. An officer can help you fill out the forms and reach a judge by phone. An emergency order lasts only until the court’s next business day ends, so go to a circuit court before then to ask for an order that lasts longer.
    • The court holds a hearing within 30 days of the petition, or 10 days after the other person is served, whichever is later.

    If someone is stalking you, you can ask the court for a stalking order the same way, whatever your relationship to them. Court staff cannot tell you which order is best for you, but an advocate or legal aid can. The court’s checklist for the petition comes in Spanish and other languages. The DOVE Project gives free lawyers to qualifying survivors of domestic violence at the final hearing; ask your crisis center.

    When the police respond to abuse, they must help keep you safe: you can ask them to request an emergency order, to help you collect clothing, medication and other essentials, to take you to a safe place, and to get you an ambulance.

    Orders of protection (Judicial Branch)Legal help, from the Coalition

    The law: RSA 173-B:1, RSA 173-B:2, RSA 173-B:3, RSA 173-B:4, RSA 173-B:10, RSA 633:3-a

  4. After a sexual assault: medical care

    Going to a hospital is about your health and safety: you may have injuries you cannot see, or have been exposed to an infection or to pregnancy. Emergency contraception works best within 72 hours.

    • The exam is free. The bill is never sent to you or your family.
    • You choose whether to report to the police, and you can have the exam first and decide later. If you are under 18, the hospital staff must report it.
    • You choose what happens. You can say no to any part of the exam, at any time.
    • An advocate from the crisis center can be with you, for free.

    What to expect at the hospital

    The law: RSA 21-M:8-c

  5. Other protections and help

    • Keeping a new address private. If you have moved, or are about to move, somewhere the person who harmed you does not know, the Attorney General’s Address Confidentiality Program gives you a substitute address to use for state and local services, such as a driver’s license or car registration, and forwards your first-class mail. You do not need a restraining order, criminal charges or a police report. Apply before you create any records at the new address, and with a crisis center’s help, as the law requires. Mail can be delayed by as much as 5 to 7 days. A certification lasts 4 years.
    • Costs of a crime. The Victims’ Compensation Program helps victims of violent crime with costs that come from their injuries. Claims are generally filed within 2 years of the crime, and you can still qualify if no one is arrested or convicted.
    • Free legal help with housing, family law, benefits and more: 603 Legal Aid, 1-800-639-5290.

    Address Confidentiality Program (Attorney General)Services and programs, from the Coalition

    The law: RSA 7:43, RSA 21-M:8-h

Who Can Help

Your local crisis center, through the 24-hour helpline at 1-866-644-3574, is the place to start for anything on this page. Its advocates can go with you to the hospital, the police or the court.

If you think a child under 18 is being abused or neglected, New Hampshire law requires you to report it right away to the Division for Children, Youth and Families: call (800) 894-5533 in New Hampshire, or (603) 271-6562.

  • Free civil legal aid. New Hampshire Legal Assistance helps people with low income and limited assets, and adults 60 and over, mainly with housing (eviction, foreclosure and property tax deeding), domestic violence and family law, and public benefits. Apply through 603 Legal Aid, online or at 1-800-639-5290; it also publishes self-help articles.

603 Legal Aid

In the Record

Chapter 173-B: Protection of Persons from Domestic Violence

Bills now before the General Court that would change it:

Laws that changed it since 2020, newest first:

See Also

Where This Comes From