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Rep. Steve King’s comments normalizing rape and incest hurt victims and survivors


Earlier today, Iowa Congressman Rep. Steve King made hurtful and inappropriate comments about rape and incest at the Westside Conservative Club. The Des Moines Register quoted Rep. King as saying, “What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest? Would there be any population of the world left if we did that? Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can’t say that I was not a part of a product of that.”

“Rape and incest are not a prerequisite for the human condition,” says Shundrea S. Trotty, Director of Iowa Services & Programs for the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault. “Rep. Steve King’s words normalize rape and incest, hurt survivors, and undermine our efforts to support victims and their families. For centuries, sexual violence—including rape and incest—has been used as a tool to oppress and control others, especially people of color. One such glaring example is how colonists raped, pillaged, and stole land from Native American tribes, land that we continue to occupy to this day. For Rep. King to speak so flippantly of western civilization’s colonization is offensive, inappropriate, and downright shameful.”

The Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault (IowaCASA) works to unite people and organizations to promote a society free from sexual harassment, abuse, and assault. We are an organization that works toward goals that will improve the well-being of victims and survivors in many aspects of their lives.

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