Unless legislators take action this year to change Iowa law, the estimated roughly 300 to 350 Iowans involved in the settlement will receive a fraction of the awards they would be entitled to.
If a survivor of childhood sexual abuse tells someone what happened to them, studies suggest most don’t do it until they’re well into adulthood. But many Iowans abused as children run out of time to sue their abusers at age 19. Survivors and some lawmakers are working to get rid of the time limit on civil lawsuits related to child sex abuse with the hope that they can protect kids in Iowa.