What the survivors of human trafficking deserve – New York Daily News

In our adversarial legal system, prosecutors and public defenders don't often see eye to eye. But as the Manhattan district attorney and veteran attorneys for the Legal Aid Society, we agree on this: Survivors of human trafficking should not be criminalized.

A 2021 state law gives judges wide discretion to free trafficking survivors from the burden of criminal records, and we have been working collaboratively to provide relief to as many survivors as possible. We urge our counterparts across the state to do the same.

Human traffickers profit by targeting people who are vulnerable — individuals struggling with poverty, children in foster care, immigrants, domestic violence victims and transgender and gender nonconforming persons who have been rejected by their families and quite often society at large. Traffickers exploit these vulnerabilities and compel victims to commit crimes solely for the benefit of the traffickers.

Consider the experiences of three trafficking survivors that were reported in the Daily News:

Ramona immigrated from Venezuela with her two daughters, lured by her husband. He physically and sexually abused her, inflicting injuries so severe that she was repeatedly hospitalized. He also threatened to report her to immigration authorities if she didn't cooperate in his criminal activity, which resulted in her conviction for an illegal lottery scheme.

Amber came to New York to escape one abusive relationship and wound up in another. Her trafficker was physically and sexually abusive. He forced her to have sex with up to 10 men per day for money and took every penny she made. She accumulated convictions for prostitution, trespassing in hotels, and fighting with “dates” who harmed her.

It's clear to us that these women are not blameworthy for the crimes they committed. They should not bear the consequences of criminal convictions.

Historically, law enforcement did not take this view. Instead, prosecutors punished people engaged in prostitution, compounding their victimization. In recent years, due to the advocacy of survivors, survivor advocates and public defenders, the Manhattan DA's office and others altered their approach. Former Manhattan DA Cy Vance stopped prosecuting people for prostitution, cleared hundreds of prostitution warrants and dismissed open cases. But the reality is that trafficked people are also coerced into committing more serious offenses, and these convictions must be vacated as well to give survivors a fair chance at rebuilding their lives.

That's why we both worked to secure passage of the Survivors of Trafficking Attaining Relief Together (START) Act. Signed into law last November, START gives survivors of sex and labor trafficking an avenue to clear convictions for any crimes that were the result of their trafficking experience.

Under START, a survivor can file a motion to vacate past convictions where “participation in the offense was a result of having been a victim of trafficking.” Since the law took effect, the Legal Aid Society and private attorneys have filed and the Manhattan DA's Human Trafficking Response Unit has consented to vacate 10 survivors' past convictions, and the DA's office has agreed to consent to seven additional pending motions. Thus far, the office has not objected to a single START Act motion.

The Manhattan DA's office reviews these motions with the understanding that the trauma of being trafficked can drive survivors' actions even if they are not directly coerced into committing crimes. Prosecutors investigate the facts of each case to corroborate the alleged experience of trafficking before consenting to vacate a conviction for a serious offense, but the process is not adversarial. Prosecutors assess survivors' actions through a trauma-informed lens.

The DA's office applies the same approach to new and current cases. If someone is charged or indicted, but not convicted and the defense raises a credible claim that the accused person committed the alleged crime as a result of trafficking, prosecutors dismiss the case.

Without the burden of a criminal record, survivors are better positioned to secure stable housing, employment or enroll in school. While much can be done in New York City to provide further support for survivors, individuals are less likely to be re-trafficked when they do not carry the stigma of a criminal record, are employed, and housed. This makes all our communities safer.

Human trafficking survivors deserve a fair chance at a better life. We call on prosecutors across the state to fulfill the promise of the START Act by collaborating with the defense bar to assess who is eligible for this post-conviction relief; learning and employing trauma-centered interviewing techniques; and consenting to vacatur motions where investigations demonstrate that a conviction is a result of trafficking.

Bragg is Manhattan district attorney. Latimer and Swenstein are attorneys with the Exploitation Intervention Project at the Legal Aid Society