So Much To Be Proud Of

Unfortunately, the Iowa Legislature did not keep our constitutional amendment for victims' rights alive past the legislative funnel. Our issue is no longer eligible to be considered this year. 

When Marsy’s Law for Iowa launched four years ago, no one in this state was talking about victims’ rights. During that short amount of time, our coalition has met with tens of thousands of Iowans, attended events, held press conferences and penned letters to the editor, grew our coalition of survivors, victim organizations and law enforcement, and most importantly, brought crime victims back into the criminal justice conversation once again. 

While the outcome has certainly not been what we had hoped, we are so proud of the work that was done to advance victims’ rights in Iowa. 

Because of your efforts, several pieces of legislation that put the focus on the victims of crime have been passed, including:

-Eliminating the statute of limitations on sex crimes against children

-Closing a loophole where many first-time sufferers of domestic abuse were not able to access the victim protections provided by Chapter 915 of Iowa law

-Empowering victims to track the progress of sexual assault evidence kits

-Creating a sexual assault forensic examiner program

-$5 million for victims' assistance grants and funding to combat human trafficking and domestic abuse

-Expansion of the rape shield law

-Providing no-contact orders for those charged with certain sex abuse charges prior to their release on bail

Due to the nature of how constitutional amendments are passed in Iowa, we will be ramping down our efforts over the coming months. We encourage you to keep working, keep sharing your story with lawmakers, keep pushing for change.

Please continue to follow our social media channels and our blog for updates and information. 

Thank you for all you've done for crime victims in Iowa. We appreciate your support.