Congratulations to the Iowa House of Representatives for passing House File 2464 on a vote of 95-1! This bill will prevent the harmful and re-traumatizing effects of arrest and prosecution for crimes committed while a survivor was subject to human trafficking. This bill will help a trafficking survivor’s ability to rebuild their life. Representative Steve Holt and Representative Mary Wolfe gave outstanding testimony during Wednesday’s debate and clearly won their colleagues over.
“This legislation recognizes that we must treat victims of human trafficking differently than we have in the past. We must connect them to resources to help them heal and move forward. Our legal system must recognize the stark realities of the control and power of those who are manipulating children into human trafficking and allow these victims, once free of their traffickers and receiving assistance, to have their records expunged so that they can move forward. They are victims—they did not committee these acts of their own volition. We must have effective procedures to combat traffickers and we must pursue justice for the survivors of this evil.”
–Rep. Steve Holt, during his closing remarks
ACTION ALERT
Please contact your senator and ask them to urge Senator Brad Zaun to assign the bill to a Senate subcommittee ASAP. We have less than one week before the second legislative funnel so get to writing and calling! Identify your Senator here.
Key Talking Points to Senators:
- HF 2464 will prohibit the criminalization of survivors under 18 for prostitution and other offenses, ensuring they cannot be arrested, detained, or prosecuted for such offenses.
- To prevent the harmful and re-traumatizing effects of arrest and prosecution for crimes committed while they were trafficked, Iowa must enact comprehensive non-criminalization laws.
- Rather than being arrested for certain crimes committed while a victim of human trafficking, this legislative will allow police officers to take children into temporary custody as a child in need of assistance and direct them to the Department of Human Services for victim assistance.
- Sex trafficked youth are commonly compelled to commit juvenile and criminal offenses during their victimization. Criminal and juvenile records present detrimental challenges to the restoration and healing process for survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation.
- Juvenile records may result in school expulsion, denial of professional licenses, and denial of access to public benefits. Criminal records hinder survivors from obtaining employment, securing safe housing, taking out loans, and seeking education.
- These collateral consequences result in further victimization, including psychological harm, that may hinder a survivor’s ability to rebuild their path into society.
- 31 states have already passed Safe Harbor laws including Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and North Dakota. Iowa must join this list!
- No group is registered in opposition to the bill.
It’s budget time in the legislature!
Please contact your representative in the House and ask them to allocate $10 million (an additional $5M) to victim services in the Justice Systems Appropriations budget. Currently, state victim services funds are limited to domestic and sexual abuse services.
In addition to the funding increase, we request an amendment so state funds can also support services for homicide, human trafficking, and other violent crime victims. See members of the House Appropriations Committee here.
The persistent unmet need for services, decrease in federal Victims of Crime Act Assistance (VOCA) funds, increased cost, challenges of providing services during the pandemic, and increase in homicides offer a solid rationale for this request. Identify your House Representative here.