Protecting Sex Trafficking Victims Through Expungement and Vacatur Statutes: Will Virginia Join the Rest of the Nation?
Protecting Sex Trafficking Victims Through Expungement and Vacatur Statutes: Will Virginia Join the Rest of the Nation?
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通过删除和真空法规保护性贩运受害者：弗吉尼亚州会加入美国其他地区的行列吗？
DOI：
10.2139/ssrn.3409345
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发表时间：
2019
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
S. Walton
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
S. Walton
弗吉尼亚州议会在打击性交易方面取得了很大进展，这一点值得赞扬。但它缺乏一个关键领域--使受害者能够从他们的犯罪记录中删除或腾出某些罪行。根据犯罪的性质和定义，性贩运受害者被迫从事犯罪活动。但是，执法部门经常错误地将这些人视为罪犯，而不是将这些人确定为需要照顾的受害者。由于卖淫和相关定罪记录在案，性贩运幸存者在获得住房、就业和公共福利等方面面临重大障碍。谢天谢地，有了解决办法。这些法律被称为“犯罪记录救济法”，使性交易受害者能够清除因被贩运而发生的某些犯罪行为的犯罪记录。虽然各州的法规在程序和实体方面存在很大差异，但除了六个州外，所有州都通过了某种形式的犯罪记录救济法。弗吉尼亚州是这六个州之一，弗吉尼亚州也缺乏对受害者的其他关键保护，比如对卖淫起诉的平权辩护。弗吉尼亚州议会现在必须采取行动，通过一项犯罪记录救济法来保护性交易受害者。
The Virginia General Assembly is making great headway in the fight against sex trafficking, and for that it should be commended. But it is lacking in one key area – enabling victims to expunge or vacate certain offenses from their criminal records. By the very nature and definition of the crime, sex trafficking victims are forced to engage in criminal activity. But rather than identify these individuals as victims in need of care, law enforcement often mistakenly processes them as criminals. With prostitution and related convictions on their records, sex trafficking survivors face significant barriers to obtaining housing, employment, public benefits, etc. Thankfully, there is a solution. Known as "criminal record relief laws," these laws enable sex trafficking victims to clear their criminal records of certain offenses that occurred as a result of their being trafficked. While the statutes vary significantly across the states with respect to procedure and substance, all but six states have passed some form of criminal record relief law. Virginia is one of those six states, and Virginia also lacks other key protections for victims like an affirmative defense to prosecutions for prostitution. The Virginia General Assembly must act now and pass a criminal record relief law to protect sex trafficking victims.