Attorney General Bird Highlights Major Strides in Supporting and Protecting Sexual Assault Survivors

DES MOINES—Today, during National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird highlighted the office’s actions to support and protect sexual assault survivors.

“As a prosecutor, I work with victims and know how important it is for them to have quality support as they work through the court process and recovery,” said Attorney General Bird. “That is why my team and I will not stop fighting to improve victim services, increase access to critical care, and help survivors through these challenging times.”

Attorney General Bird made it a day one priority in office to launch a full audit of victim services. In May 2024, her audit exposed a flawed system from the previous administration that jeopardized services to victims. Attorney General Bird immediately took sweeping action to improve all victim services. Since the audit, Attorney General Bird has:

• Partnered with Governor Reynolds in securing $5.5 million to continue serving crime victims in all 99 counties.
• Doubled exam payments for sexual assault nurse examiners—their first pay raise in 20 years—and started reimbursing them for mileage for the first time.
• Launched a first-of-its-kind, statewide domestic-violence awareness conference to provide trainings to law enforcement and prosecutors.
• Added trainings for recognizing, combatting, and prosecuting sexual assault cases. A new team was also added to the criminal justice division at the Iowa Attorney General’s office that is dedicated to providing these trainings.
• Fixed the system so that prosecutors can update the status of sexual assault kits, as is required by Iowa law.
• Transitioned to a paperless system that improves access for crime victims applying for support through victim compensation.
• Updated consent forms for sexual assault exams to comply with Iowa law. The forms are available to hospitals and providers.
• Hired a coordinator who works with the judicial branch to create and implement a new protective order notification system—after the previous system was terminated by the prior administration. This system is required by law to alert victims to renew their protective order or execute critical safety plans for themselves and their families.
• Began, and continues, to host victim services roundtables across the state.

Attorney General Bird remains committed to ensuring all Iowa crime victims have access to quality care, resources, and support.

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For More Information:

Alyssa Brouillet | Communications Director

515-823-9112

alyssa.brouillet@ag.iowa.gov