In 2015, an ex-boyfriend broke into my apartment and raped me at knifepoint. When I fled my apartment screaming for help, my neighbors called the police, and my ex-boyfriend was arrested later that night. He was successfully prosecuted in Ramsey County and sentenced to 12 years in prison. 

With the legal system's validation, I have been able to tell my story, and in response, 1000+ survivors across Minnesota have told me their stories. What struck me was that almost none of them had seen their perpetrator(s) held accountable. 97% of rapists walk free. 

The legal system's failure to hold perpetrators of sexual violence accountable requires victims to seek other options. Many victims are asking for a safe space where they can be believed and have their pain taken seriously. They want a chance to speak about the impact and to get answers from their perpetrator. They want a space where their perpetrators can take accountability and possibly offer amends or an apology, if and how possible. Restorative Practices creates a promising path for the victims who do not wish to engage the legal system or for those the system has failed. 

HF 104 and SF 2200 protect the data gathered in restorative practices, so that perpetrators can take accountability without fearing that their admission of guilt will be used against them in a criminal or civil court. 

These bills leave open the option of criminal and civil justice consequences, but it creates a new option as well. 

Please join me in supporting HF 104 and SF 2200 so that victims of sexual violence have the option to pursue a restorative practice, if they want it.