DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird on Thursday afternoon announced her office will be pushing for a constitutional amendment to protect children from having to testify in front of their alleged abuser.

AG Bird along with the Linn County and Wayne County Sheriffs, Linn and Polk County Attorneys, counselors, and abuse survivors spoke at a press conference to the importance and need of the amendment.

“We are proposing this constitutional amendment, it will take time, in the meantime we will do everything we can to protect children and to help in the court process. The reason we need this amendment is because some children aren’t able to testify in front of the person who hurt them,” said Attorney General Bird, (R).

In June the Iowa Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in favor of a man who argued it was unconstitutional to allow two children to testify virtually over a one way video feed. In the ruling, it now means children will have to testify in a courtroom in front of their alleged abusers.

A victim of human trafficking in 2009 spoke about how this amendment would have helped her when she was only 15-years-old deciding if she should testify.

“I know how important this amendment is because I’ve lived the alternative. I didn’t testify because the system felt too unsafe for me to do so. How many survivors will feel the same way? In my opinion passing this amendment sends a clear message — Iowa stands with it’s most vulnerable victims and stands with survivors like me and it stands for justice,” said Brittany Sowder, a survivor of human trafficking in the state.

Sowder is the Founder of the Lighthouse Foundation, which is based in Pella, and the foundation helps survivors work through their trauma from abuse situations.

A constitutional amendment needs to pass in two separate general assemblies before getting on the ballot for voters to decide.

Bird said that she respects decisions from the state’s highest court, but added that voters of Iowa have a choice in shaping rights for victims in the state.

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