Sidney McCoy, Author at Shared Hope International

June 15, 2022 by Sidney McCoy

Legislative Update Series: State Non-criminalization Laws

Shared Hope has been a leader on policy research in the field of child and youth sex trafficking for over 20 years, working to ensure federal, state, and local policies are rooted in and supported by research and promising practices. Shared Hope’s Policy Team provides technical assistance and advocacy support to Congressional and state legislators seeking research-based, survivor-centered, and field-informed policy solutions to address child and youth sex trafficking. As Congress heads into Summer Recess and 27 of the 46 states in session in 2022 have adjourned for the calendar year, Shared Hope is doing a legislative update blog series on state and federal laws that have been introduced and enacted with the potential to impact survivors of child and youth sex trafficking. [Read more…]

June 14, 2022 by Sidney McCoy

Fact Sheet: Protecting Trafficking Survivors from Unjust Criminalization

Updated 5/24/2024

It is commonly known that retraumatizing and creates an uneasy relationship between the survivor and the legal justice system. However, many state and federal laws continue to charge victims of human trafficking with the crimes they committed under coercive force by their traffickers. These crimes are frequently prostitution offenses but may also include misdemeanors and felonies ranging from theft to more serious violations. The victim often commits these crimes to appease their trafficker or survive their situation. These “victim–offenders,” or survivors who find themselves in the intersection of victimization and criminal offender, are retraumatized by their detention and prosecution. They are also left with a criminal record that hinders their enrollment in higher education, limits their ability to purchase a home, and restricts their access to work opportunities. The inability to develop their lives may leave survivors feeling stuck, financially restricted, and with no way to excel except by returning to their trafficker. Although some states have taken action to address this by allowing trafficking victims to vacate unjust convictions, Congress has yet to take similar action on this issue.

To address this issue and provide enduring support for trafficking victims, Shared Hope International supports introducing the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act (TSRA) of 2024 The TSRA seeks to amend Title 18 of the U.S. Criminal Code. The amendment permits vacatur, or complete removal from an individual’s record, for non-violent criminal offenses when the offense was directly related to having been a victim of trafficking. See C(I). TSRA also provides victims with confidentiality by filing any document relating to the motion to vacate under seal and withholding any identifying information from public inspection.

Finally, the TSRA further amends Title 18 by adding a human trafficking defense. This defense establishes a rebuttable presumption that the offense was induced by duress, force, or coercion, wherever any defendant establishes by clear and convincing evidence, that they were a victim of trafficking at the time of the committed offense.

The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2024 accomplishes these goals by:

Amending Title 18 to allow a rebuttable presumption that certain offenses committed by victims of human trafficking were induced by coercion.
Amending Title 18 to permit a motion to vacate or expunge criminal offenses based on the mitigating factor that the alleged conduct that resulted in the arrest was directly related to the movant having been a victim of trafficking.
Sealing any identifying record or part of the proceeding related to such motion from the public record.

Current Sponsors:

Senate: Kristen Gillibrand, Marco Rubio, Ron Wyden, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Catherine Cortez Masto, Mike Rounds, Peter Welch, Steve Daines, Chris Coons, Lisa Murkowski

House: Russell Fry, Ted Lieu, Ann Wagner, Robert Garcia, Byron Donalds, Nicholas Langworthy, Barry Moore, William Timmons, Nancy Mace, Joe Wilson, Jake LaTurner, Erin Houchin, Thomas Kean, Mary Miller, David Rouzer, Sheila Jackson Lee, Hank Johnson Jr., Michael Lawler, Nikki Budzinski, Gwen Moore, Kathy Castor, Mary Sattler Peltola, Lois Frankel, Burgess Owens, Chris Smith, Max L. Miller, Debbie Lesko, Greg Landsman, Mike Collins, Maxwell Frost, Debbie Dingell, Andy Biggs, Kat Cammack, Zoe Lofgren, Jerrold Nadler, Deborah Ross, Madeleine Dean, Eric Swalwell, Ami Bera

Learn More & Cosponsor:

Visit https://sharedhope.org/what-we-do/bring-justice/ to access Shared Hope’s research and advocacy resources.
TSRA Myths vs Facts
TSRA Fact Sheet
For technical assistance, contact Christine Raino at christine@sharedhope.org.

Additional Sources:

Trauma, Coercion, And the Tools of Trafficking Exploitation: Examining The Consequences for Children And Youth In The Justice System, 109 Ky. LJ. 719. https://sharedhope.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/TRAUMA-COERCION-AND-THE-TOOLS-OF-TRAFFICKING-EXPLOITATION-EXAMINING-THE-CONSEQUENCES-FOR-CHILDREN-AN.pdf .
Responding to Sex Trafficking Victim – Offender Intersectionality: A Guide for Criminal Justice Stakeholders, https://sharedhope.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/SH_Responding-to-Sex-Trafficking-Victim-Offender-Intersectionality2020_FINAL.pdf.

June 14, 2022 by Sidney McCoy

Fact Sheet: Sara’s Law and the Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act

Sara’s Law and the Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2021 (H.R. 2858)

The Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2021, or “Sara’s Law,” was introduced into Congress on April 26, 2021. The legislation is named after Sara Kruzan who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at 17 years old for killing her trafficker. She was groomed at age 11, then sex trafficked from 13-16 years old. After escaping, she returned to kill her abuser. In the trial, she was tried as an adult and was sentenced to life in jail without parole. The court did not consider the impact childhood trauma and victimization had on Kruzan’s decision-making. She served 19 years and 7 months before the governor commuted and reduced her sentence.

Today, many do not consider the impact childhood trauma has on a child sex trafficking victim’s criminal conduct. Child sex trafficking victims are often tried as adults and given harsh sentences for crimes they committed as a result of their victimization. This approach ignores the impact childhood trauma has on a victim’s decision-making process. Sara’s Law acknowledges that child sex trafficking victims are capable of rehabilitation and recovery and deserving of trauma-informed care.

Key Findings

Youth as young as 13 years old can be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Over 2,500 U.S. children are serving this sentence.
Research shows that girls who are sent into the juvenile justice system have typically experienced overwhelmingly high rates of sexual violence.
Studies show that youth of color are vastly more likely to be charged as if they were adults.

Sara’s Law protects child sex trafficking victims by:

Allowing courts to take a child’s history into account and depart from mandatory minimums for youthful victim offenders who have been trafficked, abused, or assaulted to consider the “effect of trauma on the offender’s conduct.”
Allowing mandatory minimums to be reduced by 35% to reflect the juvenile’s age and prospect for rehabilitation.

Learn More & Take Action:

Ask Congress to pass Sara’s Law here: act.sharedhope.org/vKWqG5C
Take action on the TVPRA bills that incorporate Sara’s Law
Visit sharedhope.org/what-we-do/bring-justice/ to access Shared Hope’s research and advocacy resources.
For technical assistance, contact Christine Raino at christine@sharedhope.org.

Additional Sources:

Responding to Sex Trafficking Victim-Offender Intersectionality: A Guide for Criminal Justice Stakeholders: sharedhope.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/SH_Responding-to-Sex-Trafficking-Victim-Offender-Intersectionality2020_FINAL.pdf
National Survivor Network Member’s Survey: Impact of Criminal Arrest and Detention on Survivors of Human Trafficking: nationalsurvivornetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/VacateSurveyFinal.pdf
The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The Girls’ Story: The Sexual Abuse To Prison Pipeline: The Girls’ Story (georgetown.edu)

June 13, 2022 by Sidney McCoy

Fact Sheet: Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Acts (TVPRA)

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (S. 3946, S. 3949)

Updated: 2/1/2023

In 2022, Congress introduced four Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (“TVPRA”) bills which would most notably reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) authorizations which expired in September 2021. The TVPA provides critical tools needed to combat human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad by authorizing approximately $1 billion for FY 2022 through 2026 to continue currently enacted appropriation and authorization levels for successful anti-trafficking programs. Of the four TVPRA reauthorization bills, two (S. 3946 and S. 3949) were enacted in January 2023. The new laws reauthorize and enhance programs, strengthen laws, and add accountability that reflects the critical need for prevention, protection, and prosecution to combat human trafficking domestically and abroad.

Shared Hope International supports these laws because they are trauma-informed, survivor-centered, and proactive. The policies included in this legislation are bipartisan with broad support from at least 17 different national and state-based organizations. The passage of this legislation will have a direct impact on victims and survivors, whose needs would be addressed through the allocation of necessary funding and the implementation of training and educational programs. Overall, these laws ensure the continuation of existing programs, while also increasing transparency and awareness for human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad, and preventing harm to future victims.

Key Provisions

Child welfare grants: Shared Hope supports HHS grants to eligible states to develop, improve, or expand programs that assist child welfare programs with identifying and responding to human trafficking, including children trafficked by a third-party (i.e., not familial) trafficker.
Promoting consistent trafficking definitions: Shared Hope supports efforts to promote nationally consistent definitions of child sex trafficking by urging the removal of third-party control requirements from state trafficking laws that narrow the definition in conflict with the federal definition of child sex trafficking.

In addition to reauthorizing critically needed funds that support survivor-centered responses and accountability for exploiters, the following are some highlights of other important provisions in the TVPRA bills:

The Abolish Trafficking Reauthorization Act of 2022 ( 3946)
- Authorizes the Sec. of HHS to make grants to eligible states to develop, improve, or expand programs that assist with child welfare programs that assist with identifying and responding to human trafficking to states that have eliminated third-party control requirements. Also requires the state to develop and implement a specialized protocol for responding when victims are exploited by a third-party (i.e., not familial) trafficker.
The Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022 ( 3949)
- Makes grants to State child welfare and juvenile justice agencies and child- and youth-serving agencies to collaborate in the collection of data relating to dual status youth and to develop practices, policies, and protocols to confront the challenges presented and experienced by dual status youth.

Notes: Sara’s Law: Shared Hope advocated for the incorporation of “Sara’s Law,” named after child sex trafficking survivor Sara Kruzan, which would enable judges to take into consideration abuse or trauma a child sex trafficking victim has endured to ensure that they do not receive lengthy prison sentences, to be included in TVPRA. Unfortunately, H.R.5150, which would have codified Sara’s Law, did not ultimately pass.