(ABC 6 News) – During Sexual Assault Awareness month, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is highlighting services for survivors in the state.

One program through the Secretary of State’s Office is the Safe at Home program, which gives survivors of sexual assault a legal address substitute.

It applies to things like voter registration, driver’s licenses and a survivor’s mail, which will all go through the Secretary of State’s Office, so a survivor’s real address isn’t public information.

The idea is to empower survivors and give them peace of mind, so any bad actors won’t be able to find them in their homes.

“People need to realize, in our state alone, and Minnesota’s not any different, one in three women will be sexually assaulted. One in nine men will,” said Pate.

Over 2,200 people have gone through the Safe at Home program from across all of Iowa’s 99 counties.

“You know somebody who has been assaulted or will be assaulted. Every one of our lives will have someone who we care about impacted by this unfortunate situation,” said Pate.

Since 2024, the Iowa Secretary of State’s office saw over 783 cases of human trafficking reported to its hotline.

“That’s the tip of the iceberg. Most of them don’t [report],” said Pate. “There is no one typical sexual assault or trafficking. It can be a young infant, it can be a most senior population. It’s unfortunate, it’s an equal opportunity abuser, and we need to be more cognizant and watchful of what’s going on.”

The SAFE Center of Iowa is a new non-profit, also aiming to provide services to survivors of sexual assault, such as clinical services, tailored support and comprehensive education by a team of experienced professionals.

It is currently looking to open its first physical location, which will be somewhere in the state’s capitol, but the goal is to provide services across Iowa.

Director Shannon Knudsen wants victims to know healthcare services from the SAFE Center are free and will not be billed to insurance.

“Explanation of benefits are not then mailed home, which is really critical in our young adolescents, our spousal situations, where there might be a safety reason, or perhaps they wouldn’t seek services otherwise.” said Knudsen. “That’s really critical because we want our Iowans healthy, and we want to be able to provide them with that healthcare.”

During this time where we’re seeing major cuts to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, Pate doesn’t think it will cause major disruptions to survivor resource programs in Iowa because they don’t lean heavily on federal dollars.

Safe at Home receives state funding that comes from court fines.

“It’s a very, quite frankly, a low-budget item. We are very frugal, but we also try to make sure we can service our clientele,” said Pate.

Another program, Iowa Businesses Against Trafficking (IBAT), is all volunteer driven.

Right now, the SAFE Center relies mostly on private donors, but currently has a bill for state support making its way through the legislature.

“Being newly established right now, you know, the most difficult part is getting those first funding dollars,” said Knudsen.

You can find more information on Iowa’s Safe at Home program here.

Minnesota also has a Safe at Home program, which you can learn about here.