Protecting Victims of Human Trafficking

Protecting Victims of Human Trafficking

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

According to the Indiana State Report on Human Trafficking, there were 157 human trafficking cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) in 2019, which was a 19% increase from 2018. With incidents reported in almost all 92 counties, the General Assembly has recently passed a bill that aims to decrease the number of human trafficking cases by increasing penalties for the criminals involved.

Senate Enrolled Act 155 makes needed updates to Indiana's human trafficking laws to support justice for victims.

This law raises the penalty for purchasing the services of a human trafficking victim from a Level 5 felony to a Level 4 felony, ensuring that the purchaser of the victim faces the same penalty as the seller. SEA 155 also requires law enforcement agencies to report human trafficking investigations to the Attorney General within 30 days of the commencement of the investigation.

Two clarifications are also made under SEA 155:

  • Offering resources to a human trafficking victim is only a crime if it was done with the specific intent to induce or obtain the product or act for which the victim was trafficked.
  • Consent by the human trafficking victim is not a defense to prosecution. SEA 155 also eliminates the defense that the trafficked individual gave consent, since victims of human trafficking are in no position to give consent to their continued abuse.

By working to better identify human trafficking cases and provide services to victims, Senate Republicans will continue to make strides in keeping all Hoosiers safe.

To learn more about this bill and others passed this session, click here.