Brandi Little

Guest Columnist

Did you know that – based on data collected from advocacy groups like the Polaris Project – nearly 91 percent of human trafficking survivors have a criminal record due to illegal acts they were forced or coerced into committing? This could include everything from drug offenses to theft and property crimes to identity and fraud crimes.

For those lucky enough to escape their traffickers, a criminal record is a significant stumbling block on the road to recovery. Nearly 73 percent of survivors either lose a job or are denied employment because of their criminal records; more than 58 percent experience rejection when applying for safe, affordable housing; and criminal records often impact access to higher education and professional licenses. Survivors are sadly locked into a cycle of poverty, increasing their risk for re-exploitation. I know, because I am a human trafficking survivor with a criminal record. Fortunately, there are legal pathways to relief at both the federal and state levels. These include exclusions, which strictly apply to non-violent offenses and crimes that do not involve children as victims. There’s also expungement, which erases the criminal record entirely from background checks. But the strongest way for survivors to clear non-violent felony convictions that resulted from exploitation is vacatur, where judges can legally wipe out the conviction as if it never occurred. Last January, the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act was signed into federal law. This allows victims of human trafficking to vacate certain non-violent convictions, expunge arrest records, and mitigate sentences based on the stage or outcome of prosecution.

Although laws can vary from state to state, 47 states have established procedures for survivors to expunge, seal, or vacate records. Georgia’s vacatur law, established under the Survivors First Act signed by Governor Kemp in 2020, provides a way for trafficking survivors to clear their records and eliminate barriers to housing, employment, and other opportunities.

In Georgia, survivors can petition to vacate convictions if their offense was a direct result of being trafficked. They can file immediately, even when completing a sentence, and only have to demonstrate a connection between their offense and trafficking through evidence of testimony. Best of all, if vacatur is granted, criminal history records are restricted at no charge and any previously paid fines or fees must be refunded.

Vacatur is an important addition to Georgia law because it wipes out the previous conviction entirely, depriving it of all legal force. Imagine the possibilities that open up to the survivors striving for a life of confidence, self-respect, and courage! No longer will their past be used against them, whether it’s when they apply for a job or an apartment or take a child custody battle to court. This is restorative justice at its best.

I urge Georgians to take time to learn the facts about human trafficking and the relatively new vacatur policy. Support survivors, advocate for criminal justice reform, and volunteer with legal aid groups.

While the problem of human trafficking is complicated, it takes all of us working together to put an end to it.

Brandi Little is a human trafficking survivor, advocate, and music artist based in Macon. She will be speaking at the Fall Stakeholder Meeting of Tharros Place, a Savannah nonprofit serving underage survivors of human trafficking, on October 7.