Victims of human trafficking, a significant portion of whom are female-identified, are commonly forced to engage in various criminal acts by their traffickers. Survivors who are arrested and convicted for crimes they were forced to commit often experience difficulties obtaining safe housing and gainful employment, which in turn keeps them trapped in poverty and vulnerable to continued exploitation.
Although Maryland law already allows survivors of sex trafficking to vacate, or, set aside prostitution convictions stemming from their trafficking experience, prostitution is only one of many crimes these survivors are commonly forced to commit. Under Maryland's current "vacating convictions" law, only prostitution convictions are eligible for vacatur. As a result, the number of survivors able to access this form of legal relief is low, while the need for legal relief remains high.
Additionally, the singular focus on prostitution convictions means that criminalized survivors of labor trafficking are completely ineligible for relief. Survivors who are unable to access this form of relief continue to experience stigma as well as difficulties reintegrating back into society following their victimization.
This proposed change in law will expand Maryland's current "vacating convictions" law to apply explicitly to survivors of labor trafficking, as well as expand the number of crimes eligible for vacatur. Without these changes, Maryland's vacatur law will continue to leave a large number of survivors without the legal relief they so desperately need to heal from the trauma of their exploitation and become productive members of their communities. Criminalized survivors in Maryland deserve access to legal relief that reflects their lived experiences and that provides them access to the stability and independence they deserve.
