Who We Are
Survivor Impact is a constellation of sexual abuse survivors and allies across the state of Iowa seeking to improve the rights of survivors of child sex abuse.
What We Do
Advocate for removing the civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse in the state of Iowa to give survivors more time to seek justice.
Who Can Join?
Survivors and allies who are willing to talk with neighbors, groups, legislators, and journalists about why Iowa shouldn’t have a time limit on justice for child sex abuse survivors.
How Does Iowa Rank Nationwide?
Iowa is tied with Idaho for the 49th-place ranking in the country for civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse.
Nineteen states have NO civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse, and only South Dakota ranks lower.
The children and survivors of Iowa deserve better.
Q: What is a Statute of Limitations (SOL)
A: A deadline for how many years after you have been the victim of a crime you have to file a case against the party who harmed you.
Q: What is a Civil Lawsuit?
A: A non-criminal legal dispute where one party (the plaintiff) takes another party (the defendant) to court to seek money or a specific action.
Why Do Survivors Need More Time?
The average age of disclosure for victims of child sexual abuse is 52 years old; the current Iowa statute of limitations for civil cases only gives survivors until the age of 23 to come forward.
The impact on survivors lasts a lifetime, which is why civil cases are an important option. Learn more about the physical, emotional, and financial impacts of child sexual abuse on survivors HERE.
Who Benefits From A Civil SOL?
Not only do abusers benefit from a civil SOL, but the institutions that employ them do as well. It saves schools, churches, sports programs, and youth camps money when victims have a time limit on coming forward.
Sadly, for some organizations, the threat of financial impacts is the only motivation to improve processes, take reports of misconduct seriously, or report inappropriate behavior at all. Iowa’s current SOL makes our state a safe haven for abusers and institutions who choose to turn a blind eye; let’s make Iowa a safe haven for children instead.
