I'm a sex trafficking survivor. Our laws made me a criminal. | Opinion

I was a teenager when I was abducted and trafficked across the United States and into Canada.

The people who exploited me used both physical violence and psychological control. I was moved repeatedly, isolated from anyone who might recognize what was happening and given a different identity. I was coerced, drugged and sold. Like many trafficking victims, I was subjected not only to direct physical violence, but to a sustained effort to break down my sense of autonomy and convince me that escape was impossible.

Over time, the abuse reshaped how I saw myself and the world around me. My traffickers understood that control depends not only on force but also on fear, isolation and shame. They made it clear that if I tried to seek help, I would not be believed. They made me believe I was not worth saving.

When I eventually escaped, I believed the most difficult part of my life was behind me. Instead, I encountered another set of challenges that many trafficking survivors face in the United States.

Trafficking victims often charged with crimes forced on them

During the time I was being trafficked, I received multiple criminal charges that followed me for decades. I was forced into commercial sex acts that later resulted in a prostitution charge.

I also incurred minor charges related to the drugs I was given by my traffickers, and was charged for running from the police while trying to escape dangerous situations.

This is not unique to me – many trafficking victims are arrested and charged for offenses that are a direct result of their exploitation. This is part of how traffickers keep control. We’re told the police will see us as criminals, not victims. When you do get arrested, it makes that feel true. It keeps you scared, quiet and less likely to ask for help.

These records do not disappear once the trafficking ends. They follow survivors as they try to rebuild their lives, affecting their ability to find housing, secure employment, pursue education and reconnect with family and community. At the same time, I was dealing with trauma, addiction and the practical realities of starting over without stability or support.

What I discovered was that the systems meant to help trafficking survivors were often fragmented and difficult to navigate. Many professionals I encountered wanted to help but lacked training on how trafficking operates or how survivors present after prolonged abuse. Services were scattered across agencies and organizations that rarely coordinated with one another.

Survivors were expected to manage legal proceedings, health care, housing and social services simultaneously while still coping with the psychological effects of exploitation.

Leaving exploitation behind is only the beginning of recovery

Human trafficking is widely misunderstood in the United States. It is often portrayed as something that happens elsewhere, involving foreign victims moved through clandestine networks far from American communities.

In reality, trafficking occurs across the country and takes many forms. Victims are exploited in the commercial sex trade as well as in industries such as agriculture, construction, domestic work, hospitality and food service. Some victims are U.S. citizens; others are migrants or people brought across borders and then trapped through coercion, debt or threats.

Globally, the scope of the problem is substantial. The International Labour Organization estimates that roughly 50 million people are living in conditions of modern slavery, including forced labor and sex trafficking.

In the United States, thousands of trafficking situations are reported each year through law enforcement and national hotlines, though experts agree that the true number is likely much higher because many victims never come into contact with authorities.

Over the past two decades, federal anti-trafficking policy has been shaped largely by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which created new criminal penalties for traffickers and established programs designed to support victims, and state laws followed.

Those programs fund shelters, legal assistance, counseling and law enforcement training aimed at identifying trafficking situations earlier.

But leaving exploitation behind is only the beginning of recovery. Survivors need safe and stable housing, trauma-informed care, substance-use treatment, education, job placement, and legal assistance to address criminal records tied to acts they were forced to commit while being trafficked.

This is how we can support trafficking survivors

The bipartisan Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act would renew and strengthen many of the programs designed to address those needs. Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, and cosponsored by Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Maryland, and more than 20 other members of Congress, the bill would provide sustained federal funding to survivor-informed organizations, ensuring they can deliver comprehensive support across every stage of recovery – including housing, trauma-informed care, legal aid to address coercion-related criminal records and employment assistance.

The bill also supports investigations and training for law enforcement and service providers so trafficking victims are more likely to be identified early and treated as victims rather than offenders. That distinction matters. For many survivors, the difference between rebuilding a life and returning to exploitation depends on whether meaningful support is available once they leave a trafficking situation.

Organizations that provide these services already operate with limited resources. In many communities, survivors face long waiting lists for specialized housing or counseling. Without stable funding, programs that help victims rebuild their lives can shrink or disappear even while trafficking itself continues.

The bill is named for Frederick Douglass, who spent his life exposing the realities of slavery and arguing that freedom requires active commitment from the societies that claim to value it.

Human trafficking today may take different forms than the slavery Douglass fought against, but it rests on the same basic premise: the exploitation of vulnerable people for profit.

Combating human trafficking has historically been one of the few issues capable of bringing Republicans and Democrats together. Recent anti‑trafficking reauthorizations have passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan majorities – for example, a version of the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act passed the House in 2022 and 2024 by more than 400 votes each time, demonstrating broad support across party lines for sustaining and expanding anti‑trafficking programs.

That unity is exactly what is needed now. Reauthorizing these programs will not solve trafficking on its own, but it will ensure that communities across the country have the tools to identify victims, support survivors and hold traffickers accountable. It is time to stop stalling, and put this bill on the House floor.

For people still trapped in exploitation – and for those who will one day try to escape – that support will determine whether recovery is possible.

Gina Fiorilla Cavallo is the founder and executive director of the survivor-led nonprofit organization Paying it Forward Foundation, aka We RISE USA. She also serves as consultant and vice president to the Board of Trustees for the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking (NJCAHT) and cochair on the Anti-Trafficking Task Force of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (NJAAP). She is the author of the award-winning memoir "A Survivor’s Secrets."