Domestic abuse, sexual assault bills head to Branstad for signing
Repeatedly using a technological device to locate, listen to or watch a person is now clearly identified as stalking tactic under Iowa law, following Gov. Terry Branstad signing House File 263 Thursday morning.
“House File 263 makes many important changes to ensure that habitual violent offenders are serving more time in prison and receive treatment before they are released,” Branstad said during the bill signing.
Tiffany Allison, from Des Moines, an advocate of the bill and domestic abuse survivor, said she was glad to see state code updated and legislators take a step in understanding challenges faced by domestic abuse survivors.
“If you haven’t been personally affected by domestic violence, it’s very hard to understand,” Allison said. “It’s very easy to say we have these things in place for victims, but they don’t really know what that feels like for victims until they reach out.”
