Stalking is defined under § 2C:12-10 as a course of conduct carried out purposely and knowingly that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or to experience significant emotional distress. Such conduct may include following, monitoring, threatening, interfering with property, or engaging in repeated and unwanted contact or communications.
Under New Jersey Revised Statutes § 2C:14-9.1, sexual extortion is defined as using threats to damage another person’s reputation or property, or to share sexual images or recordings, in order to coerce sexual acts or the creation of sexually explicit material. The offense covers a broad range of coercive behavior, including threats made online or in person, and the law applies whether or not the perpetrator ultimately profits from the act. Sexual extortion is classified as a third-degree crime, punishable by three to five years in prison and fines up to $15,000.
New Jersey’s sexual offense statutes create a tiered framework addressing sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault based on the nature of the act, the relationship between the parties, and the vulnerability of the victim.
New Jersey Revised Statutes § 18A:35-4.20 requires that any public school sex education program emphasize abstinence as the only completely reliable means to prevent pregnancy and to avoid HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. The statute does not prohibit broader instruction on reproductive health, but it mandates that abstinence remain the central message of such programs.
Under § 2C:24-10, it is a third-degree crime in the state of New Jersey to knowingly circumcise, excise, or infibulate the genitalia of a female under the age of 18, or to knowingly permit such conduct as a parent, guardian, or custodian. This law provides limited exceptions for medically necessary procedures performed by licensed healthcare professionals when required for the patient’s physical health, or related to childbirth.
New Jersey Revised Statutes § 47:1A-5.2 makes it a disorderly persons offense to knowingly disclose or distribute indecent or graphic images depicting another person’s intimate parts without that person’s prior written consent, or without consent from the next of kin if the individual is deceased.
New Jersey’s human trafficking laws, set out in §§ 2C:13-8 and 2C:13-9, criminalize both direct participation in and facilitation of trafficking for labor, services, or sexual exploitation.
Section 2C:34-1 of the New Jersey Criminal Code sets out the state’s laws on prostitution and its related crimes. It is illegal to engage in prostitution, to promote or profit from it, or to compel another person to participate in sexual activity for money or anything of value. When coercion or exploitation is proven, human trafficking serves as an affirmative defense.
Under New Jersey Revised Statutes § 2A:65A-6 it is unlawful for any physician or health care provider to perform a partial-birth abortion, defined as the partial vaginal delivery of a living fetus before deliberately causing fetal death. There is an exception, when the procedure is necessary to save the life of the pregnant person whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, an illness, or an injury.
New Jersey Revised Statutes § 10:7-2 affirms that every individual in the state has a fundamental right to make personal decisions about their reproductive health. This includes the right to use or decline contraception, to continue a pregnancy and give birth, or to terminate a pregnancy. The statute guarantees that these choices belong to the individual, and not to the government, and it protects access to both contraception and abortion services as part of that right.
