Bipartisan, bicameral bill to clear human trafficking victims of non-violent crimes introduced by Portman, Gillibrand, Blumenthal

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) helped introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation on Wednesday that would clear the non-violent criminal records of victims of human trafficking.

The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, S. 3441, would apply to non-violent crimes that are a direct result of human trafficking, including conspiracy, money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses that can remain on victims’ criminal records for life.

“Thousands of innocent women and girls have been victimized by human traffickers across our country,” Portman said. “I’ve met with a number of brave survivors in Ohio who have told me that after they were forced into sex and raped by strangers, they were charged with prostitution. I think that’s outrageous. They’re not criminals, they’re victims, and these charges come at a time when they are suffering. It’s time to stop punishing these victims and instead help them get their lives back.”

Under the bill, human trafficking survivors would be required to provide supporting documentation in order to get non-violent crimes vacated. Qualified documentation could include criminal or immigration court proceedings, law enforcement records, or a sworn statement from a trained professional with a victim services organization to prove that they were being victimized by human trafficking when they were charged.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who cosponsored the Senate bill with Portman and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), said that human trafficking survivors should not spend the rest of their lives carrying criminal records for non-violent crimes that they were forced or coerced to commit.

“Human trafficking survivors should not spend the rest of their lives burdened with criminal records for non-violent offenses they were forced or coerced into committing,” Blumenthal said. “This commonsense legislation would shatter yet another shackle holding survivors back from simple justice and a new beginning.”