By: Rheanna (Mulvaney) Adkins
At the Center for Global Justice, we believe that justice is not just a concept, but rather it’s something that has to be built, piece by piece, through research, relationships, and advocacy. This semester, my team and I had the privilege of being part of that kind of work.
We have been supporting the Criminalized Survivors Study, a national research project led by the Center for Global Justice at Regent University School of Law, in conjunction with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. The study focused on a reality that too many survivors of human trafficking face: criminal records that resulted not from free choices but from exploitation. These records follow survivors long after their trafficking ends by creating barriers to employment, housing, education, and overall stability.
Our team’s work began during the project’s development phase. From helping shape the study to supporting the survey rollout, we’ve been hands-on throughout. We are now in the distribution and data-collection phase, working to connect the survey with survivors across the country so their experiences can be documented and heard.
What makes this project so meaningful is how it was designed. Survivors aren’t just the subjects of this research; they are co-authors of it. A survivor advocacy board guided every phase of the study, from the questions used to the interpretation and use of the data. That commitment to dignity and partnership reflects exactly the values we try to carry into our work at the CGJ.
This research comes at a historic moment for survivors. The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act passed by both the House and Senate in December 2025 and was signed into law on January 23, 2026[1], creating the first-ever federal pathway for survivors to have nonviolent criminal convictions and arrest records expunged if they resulted directly from their trafficking.[2] The data our study collects will help ensure this landmark law is implemented effectively and that future reforms continue to expand relief for survivors nationwide.
We feel excited and humbled to join this work. We look forward to discovering what the data reveals, and, more importantly, to seeing what it makes possible for survivors who have waited too long for the law to reflect their reality.To learn more about the Criminalized Survivors Study or to connect survivors with the survey, visit the Center for Global Justice or email cgj-survey@regent.edu.
Clerk: Rheanna (Mulvaney) Adkins
Staff: Jeremiah Moniz
Staff: Monica Anelli
[1] Polaris Project, Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, https://polarisproject.org/tsra/
[2] Hope for Justice, Trafficking Survivors Relief Act Unanimously Passes U.S. Senate, https://hopeforjustice.org/news/trafficking-survivors-relief-act-unanimously-passes-u-s-senate/