Iowa is taking positive steps to help survivors of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, human trafficking and violent crimes. Here are three recent pieces of good news:
- A new $2 million federal grant will help the state test a backlog of sexual assault kits and investigate and prosecute rape cases. The Crime Victim Assistance Division at the Attorney General’s Office will head up this effort to bring long-overdue justice to victims.
- As of October 1, the Iowa Domestic Violence HelpLine is in operation at 1-800-770-1650. The 24/7 statewide crisis and counseling line is staffed with trained experts providing free and confidential assistance to those seeking to escape an abusive situation. The effort is paid for with $420,000 from the Attorney General’s Crime Victim Assistance Division. For more information, visit www.survivorshelpline.org.
- On January 1, Iowa will join 33 other states with an address confidentiality program that helps ensure victims are safe from their abusers. Through “Safe at Home,” a victim’s mail arrives at a substitute address managed by the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office and is forwarded to a confidential address. This prevents their physical address from appearing on public records. Applications for the program will be accepted starting in mid-December. For more information, go to http://safeathome.iowa.gov/.
These are good steps, but there is more we can do. During the 2016 session, I hope the House will seriously consider taking another look at bills the Senate passed with unanimous support this year. These include:
- Adding dating violence in the definition of criminal domestic abuse, which would require mandatory periods of confinement and batterer’s education upon conviction (SF 300).
- Allowing victims of sexual abuse to get a civil protective order to keep their abuser away from their home, school and work (SF 336).
- Cracking down on stalking by expanding its definition to include the use of surveillance technology and allowing a victim to report being stalked if they feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated or threatened by another person (SF 395).
- Prohibiting the use of GPS to track a person without legitimate purpose or authorization (SF 416).