Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announces human trafficking bill

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced legislation Sunday to provide human trafficking victims with post-conviction relief, saying those who were forced into acts by their captors shouldn’t be branded as criminals themselves.

“Human trafficking is slavery,” Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said at a news conference at her midtown Manhattan office, where survivors shared emotional stories of dehumanizing conditions and eventual escape.

The bill, called the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2016, has bipartisan support and seeks to clear nonviolent criminal records that are the direct result of trafficking, the senator’s office said.