Iowa police must release the names of most rape victims to the news media, the state attorney general's office said Friday, but newspaper editors and broadcasters said they would continue to protect the names. The opinion quickly drew the wrath of a victim services counselor, who said it would make sexual assault victims reluctant to report crimes. In response to a request by Gov. Terry Branstad, assistant attorney general Gordon Allen said state law does not permit police to keep the names of rape victims confidential. The only exception, he said, is when release of the name would jeopardize the investigation or put the victim in danger. Branstad will seek to change the law to assure confidentiality, said Richard Vohs, a spokesman for the governor. The issue came up earlier this year when The Des Moines Register challenged the practice by Des Moines police of routinely suppressing names and other information about rape victims. The department has since released the names, but none has been used in news stories. Although release doesn't mean the news media would use the names, Polk County Victim Services counselor Terry Shock said many victims won't understand that distinction. ``There will almost certainly be misconceptions,'' she said. She said society places a negative stigma on rape victims, as if the woman somehow brought on the crime, and most victims simply do not want anyone to know. ``Face it, people will be people. A lot of them will blame the victim. A lot of people aren't going to report the crime or won't even go to the hospital for fear that the hospital has to report it,'' Ms. Shock said. She also said that when reporters have the names, there's room for error that would allow the name to get in print. ``And somewhere or sometime, there's going to be journalists who simply don't care,'' she said. ``It's just very unfair to the victims.'' Allen said he was sensitive to arguments about not releasing the names, but he said the law makes no exception for rape victims. ``Due to the strong presumption in favor of disclosure of governmental records frequently reiterated by the Iowa Supreme Court, it is our view that (any doubts on the issue) would be resolved in favor of disclosure,'' Allen wrote. The law allows police to withhold information which ``would plainly and seriously jeopardize an investigation or pose a clear and present danger to the safety of an individual.'' But Allen said this exception cannot be applied to all rape cases. ``To the best of my knowledge, there is no other law in the nation that attempts to devastate victims' lives like that,'' said Anne Seymour, spokeswoman for the National Victim Center, based in Fort Worth, Texas, and New York City. ``I'm 99 percent sure.'' ``One of the critical reasons why victims say they don't report the crimes ... is the fear of exposure,'' she said from New York. The National Victim Center serves over 7,000 local victim service groups, Ms. Seymour said. Virtually all of Iowa's newspapers and radio and television stations have said they would not use the name of rape victims without permission from the victim. Mark Bowden, managing editor of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, said the opinion will not change his paper's policy of not publishing the names. But Bowden said mistakes leading to the broadcast or publication of a name could be made regardless of the law. ``You might have an inexperienced reporter, but is that any different than having a rookie at the police desk?'' he said.
