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Senator Ragan talks bullying

From Senator Amanda Ragan –

State Senator Amanda Ragan
State Senator Amanda Ragan

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Anything we can do to ensure the safety of all kids is welcome.

This includes Governor Branstad’s recently established office for bullying prevention at the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Violence Prevention. The office will develop training on anti-bullying policies and investigating complaints; promote YourLifeIowa hotline, which offers resources on bullying and suicide; come up with guidelines to deal with cyberbullying; and encourage student leadership to prevent bullying and violence in schools.

poll earlier this year showed that 73 percent of Iowans strongly support anti-bullying measures. In 2007, the Iowa Legislature first required school districts to adopt safe school policies to prevent harassment and bullying, but there’s still too much of it going on. 

The 2014 Iowa Youth Survey found that 39 percent of students reported being bullied at school in the previous 30 days by other students calling them names, making fun of them or teasing in a hurtful way. 

Ongoing harassment and bullying can devastate children, endanger their mental and physical health, and leave scars that last into adulthood. Social bullying is especially dangerous, causing depression, loneliness and anxiety. That’s why we will continue working to ensure existing protections make a day-to-day difference for students. 

Iowa is also taking positive steps to help survivors of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, human trafficking and violent crimes. Here are three recent pieces of good news:

1. A new $2 million federal grant will help the state test a backlog of sexual assault kits and investigate and prosecute rape cases. The Crime Victim Assistance Division at the Attorney General’s Office will head up this effort to bring long-overdue justice to victims. 

2. As of October 1, the Iowa Domestic Violence HelpLine is in operation at 1-800-770-1650. The 24/7 statewide crisis and counseling line is staffed with trained experts providing free and confidential assistance to those seeking to escape an abusive situation. The effort is paid for with $420,000 from the Attorney General’s Crime Victim Assistance Division. For more information, visit www.survivorshelpline.org

3. On January 1, Iowa will join 33 other states with an address confidentiality program that helps ensure victims are safe from their abusers. Through “Safe at Home,” a victim’s mail arrives at a substitute address managed by the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office and is forwarded to a confidential address. This prevents their physical address from appearing on public records. Applications for the program will be accepted starting in mid-December. For more information, go to http://safeathome.iowa.gov/.

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