By: Rheanna Mulvaney and Monica Anelli
When a victim’s path to freedom is blocked, not by a trafficker, but by the justice system itself, everyone loses. Survivors suffer. Communities suffer. And the legitimacy of the justice system suffers. This semester, the policy project Rheanna and I worked on with the Center for Global Justice confronted this reality head-on.
Across the country, including here in Virginia, survivors of human trafficking often carry criminal records for acts they were compelled to commit while under a trafficker’s control. Prostitution. Petty theft. Drug possession. Trespass. Fraudulent ID. The list is long, and none of it reflects true criminal intent. These charges become permanent shadows that follow survivors long after they escape their traffickers.
And those shadows have weight. A criminal record can cost a survivor a job offer, a loan, a professional license, a lease approval, even the ability to volunteer at their child’s school. The inability to reintegrate into society is often what pushes survivors back into the arms of the very people who exploited them. Freedom is not just escape; it’s the ability to rebuild. When the legal system stands in the way of that, it unintentionally extends victimization.
Our work this semester focused on clearing that path. We conducted a deep review of the offenses most commonly found on survivors’ records and analyzed which charges are currently eligible for vacatur relief under Virginia law and which ones are not. What we found was striking. In many cases, a survivor’s entire future hinges on how an arresting officer codes a single charge at the moment of arrest. One number entered into a database can determine whether a survivor becomes employable… or remains trapped. Whether they can access housing, or stay in a cycle of instability. Whether they become a survivor in the full sense of the word, or remain a victim of the system meant to protect them.
This project has underscored what is at stake as Virginia approaches the 2026 General Assembly session. Policy reform is not an abstract exercise, it is a lifeline. Strengthening vacatur laws and expanding relief eligibility is essential. Right now, Virginia limits vacatur to a narrow list of specific offense codes, while other states use a categorical approach that allows relief for all non-violent misdemeanor offenses committed as a direct result of trafficking. Moving Virginia toward a categorical model rather than a restrictive code-based list could transform a survivor’s trajectory.
Working on this project has been humbling, energizing, and deeply clarifying. Survivors deserve a justice system that helps them rebuild, not one that holds them back. We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to that work through the Center for Global Justice and the Virginia Coalition Against Human Trafficking.
This post was written by a student at Regent University School of Law. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.