Newsletter: Justice

Statement

Dear Friend,

A few months ago, I heard this story on the radio of a 24 year old young woman from Texas, who spent many of her teenage years forced into prostitution by human traffickers. After she escaped these captors, she faced an unexpected obstacle as she tried to rebuild her life: her criminal record for crimes she was forced to commit. Her record made it hard to find meaningful employment and was also an impediment to getting a loan, finding housing, and pursing a higher education.

Some states, Like New Hampshire, allow for survivors of human trafficking to have their records cleared of prostitution and other low-level crimes that occurred while they were being trafficked, through a legal process known as vacatur.

After I heard this story, I introduced a bill in the Senate to provide incentives for all states to pass vacatur laws so that the victims of human trafficking can finally have justice and reclaim their lives. Last week, my legislation passed the Senate as part of a broader, bi-partisan bill to address human trafficking. You can learn more about this woman's story and my work on this legislation in this NPR story that just aired on the show "All Things Considered."

Thankfully, this young woman from Texas was able to clear her record through a vacatur process in the state of Maryland. She's now registered to start college this summer and has a healthy new baby boy. It's my hope, and the goal of my legislation, that more survivors will have this same opportunity to clear their records so that they can finally live free of the harrowing experience of being victims of human trafficking.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Shaheen

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