They support bills that strengthen the fight against human trafficking in New York

New York ranked fourth in the list of a report by 2020 in which the states with the most cases of human trafficking were listed, which shows that this is a crime with a strong presence here and for which several bills are being promoted to combat it.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and State Attorney General Letitia James held a press conference in which they showed their support for two bipartisan legislative proposals, the Aid to Survivors of Trafficking Act and the Put Victims of Trafficking First Act, which will improve the collection of information on these cases and would support to the victims and survivors of human trafficking.

“Human trafficking is a horrible form of slavery that affects thousands of people across the country and hundreds in New York. Too often, victims of human trafficking are forced by their captors to commit crimes without freedom to refuse and face criminal charges,” said Gillibrand.

In 2020, almost 16,000 cases of human trafficking, and the state of New York ranked fourth highest in terms of reported cases, and according to the senator, the bills currently being promoted in Congress would help identify and rescue victims of trafficking, support survivors in recovery, and remove barriers to data collection on human trafficking.

“Congress has a responsibility to end to these injustices and clarify the non-violent criminal convictions of trafficking survivors so that they can rebuild their lives without criminal records,” said the New York senator, who She is the proponent of the survivor aid project, adding that the proposals would “help achieve those goals and also improve data collection on human trafficking to better identify patterns and provide a victim-centered approach to recovery.”

A survivor, Polina Ostrenkova, who is now the leader of the organization ‘Covenant House New York’ said: “The convictions on my record derailed my chances of becoming a legal US resident and my dreams of becoming a lawyer or a social worker and being able to defend other survivors. Fortunately, a new law in the state of New York allows me to delete my record and move on with my life.”

Support a Republican

Both New York elected officials, Gillibrand and James, are Democrats but are supporting the other bill sponsored by a Republican, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who introduced the Put Victims of Trafficking First Act, legislation that would help provide the Attorney General and law enforcement agencies with the necessary tools to support victims by informing them about trauma, since they often suffer significant trauma and these experiences create mistrust.

And it is that traffickers take advantage of a variety of tools, from psychological coercion to the use of force to exploit and isolate potential victims, leaving a dire need for law enforcement law enforcement and service providers have access to tools to help victims escape and recover.

Attorney General James emphasized that human trafficking is a statewide crime. , and it is a “crisis that is largely invisible, but deeply felt in New York communities.”

“The bills introduced by Senator Gillibrand will go a long way toward focusing much-needed attention and resources on anti-trafficking and support victims and survivors of trafficking. My office will continue to do everything possible to address this widespread problem and protect women and girls throughout the country”, emphasized the Prosecutor.

A modern form of slavery

• Trafficking persons is a modern form of slavery that involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to exploit a person for commercial labor or sexual purposes, or the exploitation of a minor for commercial sexual purposes.
As a result of being trafficked, victims are often charged with crimes such as conspiracy, money laundering, drug trafficking, drugs and related crimes that then follow them throughout their lives.
• The background Criminal charges impair the victim’s ability to find work and housing, which could leave them vulnerable to further exploitation and trafficking. The Aid to Survivors of Trafficking Act, co-chaired by Sen. Portman (R-OH), would create a federal law to vacate and expunge the nonviolent criminal convictions of individuals who committed such crimes as a direct result of trafficking. The new law would require victims to provide supporting documentation to certify their status as a victim of trafficking.

2020Human Trafficking in NY:

• New York ranked 4th among the states with the most cases of human trafficking in the 2020.
• 338 cases were reported that year throughout the state.
301 of these cases were confirmed.
205 were cases of sexual exploitation.

79 were cases of labor exploitation.

• 16 were from both categories.
126 of all cases were only in NYC.
60 were in Long Island and the Hudson Valley.
• 126 in the northern part of the state.