DES MOINES, IOWA (June 3, 2019) — The Iowa Attorney General’s office has announced that they are opening a review into clergy abuse in their state and are creating a hotline that survivors can use to support. This is a good first step in Iowa.
We are glad that Attorney General Tom Miller has taken this step towards getting to the bottom of clergy abuse in Iowa. At the same time, we believe that for any review or investigation to have a real “sunlight” effect that it must involve subpoena power or the ability to compel testimony under oath. We are hopeful that AG Miller will find ways to utilize these tools as he seeks to get to the bottom of clergy abuse cases in Iowa.
We encourage all survivors within Iowa — as well as any survivor that now lives elsewhere but may have been abused in Iowa — to come forward today and make a report to AG Miller’s hotline by calling 855-620-7000 or by filling in this questionnaire on AG Miller’s website.
SNAP, The Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. SNAP has more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in its network. Website is SNAPnetwork.org.
