Pennsylvania Legislation Offers Victim Protection from Criminalization

Human trafficking victims often incur criminal charges as a result of their trafficking—causing employment, housing, and domestic discrimination that compounds their trauma and derails their restoration journey. House Bill 753 (Rep. Melissa Shusterman) protects victims during prosecution and expands victim relief from a criminal record.[1]

This Legislation Will:

• Enhance “affirmative defense” so victims cannot be charged for any offense resulting from their trafficking.

  • Current state law grants human trafficking victims affirmative defense only for prostitution charges. This bill would better encompass the wide array of exploitation-induced criminal activities.

  • The provision would apply regardless of whether traffickers or buyers are convicted.

• Expand vacatur eligible crimes, allowing human trafficking victims to petition to rescind (“vacate”) more criminal record charges that resulted from trafficking.

  • The list of eligible crimes would include theft and contempt charges in addition to the currently listed six crimes.

• Streamline victim relief by no longer requiring district attorneys to approve a trafficking-based vacatur motion. The attorney would simply receive proven notice.

Why this Reform is Needed:

• Vulnerable individuals disproportionately suffer exploitation and incur criminal records.

  • Traffickers target disadvantaged individuals who come from minority groups, who suffer from physical or developmental disabilities, mental health diagnoses, and substance use concerns, and who experience childhood sexual abuse, poverty, unemployment, and homelessness.[1]

  • National survivor surveys find between 71-91 percent were cited, arrested, or detained by law enforcement and had a criminal record. Of them, 90 percent reported that a portion or all of their records were a direct result of being trafficked.[3,4]

• The legal system meant to protect victims instead erects barriers that increase vulnerability to repeat exploitation.

  • Nearly 75 percent of victims reported they did not report their trafficking, mostly because of fear and many said no one ever asked.[4]

  • Roughly 72 percent of victims reported employment barriers.[5] Further financial and social impediments include access to housing, federal and state benefits, credit and loans, work and volunteer clearances, and child custody.

  • Further, Pennsylvania is the only state requiring prosecutorial consent to file a vacatur motion, limiting victims’ ability to pursue relief.

• Pennsylvania’s affirmative defense, vacatur, and restitution laws are insufficient and eligible survivors underutilize available relief.

  • State law only narrowly allows affirmative defense, granting victim protection against just prostitution criminal charges if trafficking is proven.

  • Similarly, Pennsylvania’s human trafficking vacatur law allows criminalized victims to petition the court to rescind just six crimes from their criminal records, failing to encompass many trafficking-induced crimes.

  • Over three-quarters of surveyed victims were unable to vacate their convictions, citing costs or procedural confusion. Those who did clear their records reported a long and painful process.[4]

Pennsylvania should not criminalize human trafficking survivors for their own victimization. Luckily, policymakers across the country increasingly recognize punitive policies harm anti-trafficking efforts and have implemented reforms to expand vacatur, eliminate restrictive fees, and promote victim safety.[6] Pennsylvania can likewise become a national leader and expand legal pathways to avoid repeat victimization and clear unjust convictions.

Track this reform’s progress here as Pennsylvania strengthens its victim-centered, restorative anti-trafficking infrastructure.