Safe Harbor Laws

eggs
Contributor II

 

Safe Harbor Laws allow some level of criminal immunity to sexual assault victims, especially minors. Iowa is one of several states in the U.S. that does not have such laws in place.

 

Because of this, Pieper Lewis, 17 was sentenced to 5 years of supervised probation and must pay $150,000 to the family of the man she killed after he repeatedly sexually assaulted her. If she violates any of the rules of her probation she can be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for protecting herself from further assault. 

 

Assult victims in Iowa can be affected and sentenced to the same punishments as someone who has not experienced their trauma. By passing a Safe Harbor Law, we can help these victims recover and not suffer further from the actions of their abusers. 

Emma
4 REPLIES 4

Shamona
Visionary I

Let's help raise the necessary funds.  So sad it had to get to the point of ending a life to be safe.

eggs
Contributor II

I've started a petition as well so we can help. https://chng.it/vBV4JdX4

Emma

NathanW
Visionary I

Piper Lewis' case has been keeping me up at night and truly describes everything that is wrong with the way the system functions. I'm glad at least that funds were raised to go towards restitution - but how many more Pipers do there need to be before a real change is enacted?