Bolinsky Supports Legislation to Help Victims of Human Trafficking

HARTFORD- This week, State Rep. Mitch Bolinsky (R-106) supported and cosponsored a bill to better protect and act upon the plight suffered by the often nameless, faceless victims of human trafficking.

The legislation, HB-6577 will provide affirmative defenses for juvenile victims of human trafficking that commit other crimes as a result of being trafficked, and allows for vacatur of resulting criminal records, excluding class A and B felonies, unless the offenses are tied to human trafficking.

Rep. Bolinsky said, “This legislation will strengthen Connecticut’s existing human trafficking laws and provide awareness and support for victims of trafficking. Rehabilitating survivors of human trafficking by recognizing that many low-level crimes committed while under the influence, manipulation and duress of those exploiting them required additional, compassionate consideration.  That consideration must recognize these individuals are truly victims and may need a hand-up on their journeys back to becoming contributing members of our community.”

According to public hearing testimony, part of the victimization of human trafficking involves forcing its victims to participate in criminal activity, often beyond prostitution.

Human trafficking, also called modern slavery or trafficking in persons. Trafficking is a crime of exploitation; traffickers profit at the expense of their victims by compelling them to perform labor (sometimes criminal in nature) or to engage in commercial sex in every region of the United States and around the world. With an estimated 24.9 million victims worldwide at any given time, human traffickers prey on adults and children of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities, exploiting them for their own profit.