An integral piece of legislation that will give trafficking survivors a pathway to clear federal criminal convictions has unanimously passed the U.S. Senate.
The passage of the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act (TSRA) through Congress is a huge victory in the effort to ensure survivors of human trafficking can rebuild their lives. The legislation also unanimously passed the House earlier this month, with the official signing from President Donald Trump pending.
Hope for Justice has been advocating for this legislation in Washington and working with lawmakers. This has included endorsement, signing letters in support of the TSRA, coordinating non-profits to back the bill, calling on the House and the Senate to consider and pass the bill, and raising awareness. The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act was first introduced by Senator Gillibrand alongside a bipartisan group of colleagues in 2016. She has reintroduced it in every subsequent Congress, most recently with Senator Hyde-Smith in July this year.
Sarah Butler, our United States Program Director, said: “We are very excited to see this legislation on the brink of becoming law after many years of hard work to get it to this stage. It is imperative that we support survivors rather than criminalizing them for offences they were forced to commit under duress. We need to ensure survivors are given the best possible chance of rebuilding their lives, free from unfair and unjust criminal convictions that hold them back.”
Many trafficking survivors are forced or coerced into committing crimes by their traffickers, which can leave them with a criminal record that significantly reduces their chances of accessing employment, education, housing and other services, and escaping trafficking.
This Act will ensure that survivors of human trafficking will have non-violent criminal convictions or arrest records expunged if they resulted directly from their trafficking.
In addition, the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act would also:
- Allow for an individual’s status as a victim of trafficking to be a mitigating factor for courts to consider when imposing a prison sentence for violent crimes.
- Require U.S. Attorneys to submit a report one year after enactment detailing the number of motions filed under the law.
- Ensure that grant funding provided by the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office on Violence Against Women can be used for legal representation for post-conviction relief activities.
