709.1 Sexual abuse defined.

Any sex act between persons is sexual abuse by either of the persons when the act is performed with the other person in any of the following circumstances:

1. The act is done by force or against the will of the other. If the consent or acquiescence of the other is procured by threats of violence toward any person or if the act is done while the other is under the influence of a drug inducing sleep or is otherwise in a state of unconsciousness, the act is done against the will of the other.

2. Such other person is suffering from a mental defect or incapacity which precludes giving consent, or lacks the mental capacity to know the right and wrong of conduct in sexual matters.

3. Such other person is a child.

[C51, §2581, 2583; R60, §4204, 4206; C73, §3861, 3863; C97, §4756, 4758; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §12966, 12967; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §698.1, 698.3; C79, 81, §709.1] 84 Acts, ch 1188, §1; 99 Acts, ch 159, §1

Referred to in §611.23, §614.1, §668.15, §692A.101, §692A.102, §713.3, §915.40 Definition of sex act, §702.17

Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he still plans to stump across the state for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Branstad’s son, Eric, is state director of Trump’s campaign. The governor spent his weekly news briefing defending Trump. He said lewd remarks by Trump in a 2005 video disclosed in recent days are “reprehensible and offensive,” but added that he accepts Trump’s apology.

“It’s important that we recognize that we’re part of a team, and that a lot is at stake in this election,” Branstad said. “Energy security, better jobs, reducing the tax and regulatory burden, as well as the international threat. I think that we all have a responsibility to focus on the things our constituents care about.”

—Mary Gravitt

Educate girls

There are more than 7 billion people in the world, half of whom are women and girls. Shockingly, 70 percent of the world’s illiterate are female. There are many reasons to educate girls, but one of the greatest benefits is that it can break the cycle of poverty in one generation.

In rural areas, the United Nations says, wages, agriculture income, and productivity all improve when the female workers are educated.

For every additional year of primary education beyond average, a woman can expect a 10 percent to 20 percent rise in earning power. That number increases to 15 percent to 25 percent higher earning power with each additional year of secondary school.

Once a woman has access to an income, she is likely to put 90 percent of it into the health and well-being of her family, as opposed to men, who tend to invest about 30 percent. Women’s success changes her whole community.

In Rwanda, 19 years after the genocide, the country leads the way in Africa in every way: education, health, the economy, the environment, and in elected politics, powered by the force of its women. Nelson Mandela said that the way to world peace is to educate a girl.

In contrast, many countries in the Arab world, in spite of all their natural resources such as oil and gas, are way behind in all development indicators, because half their populations, their women, are denied basic rights such as education.

—Laura Anderson