Louisiana Survivors of Violence Deserve Real Justice.
We Are The Justice For Survivors Coalition
The dynamics of intimate partner violence, human trafficking, and sexual abuse are not adequately understood or accounted for in the Louisiana legal system. As a result, survivors are criminalized for defending themselves against an abuser or for being coerced to participate in a crime under duress. The Justice for Survivors Act would address this gap in the legal system, because survivors should not have to choose between incarceration and death.
What does the Justice for Survivors Act do?
State by state, legislatures are taking action on this issue. Most recently, Oklahoma passed a survivor justice act in 2024 and Georgia in 2025 with nearly unanimous votes. Louisiana has the opportunity to similarly modernize its sentencing code with the Justice for Survivors Act.
Decriminalizing Survorship
The JSA gives judges the power to sentence survivors under lower sentencing ranges if the survivor proves that the abuse, sexual assault, or trafficking was a significant contributing factor in the survivor’s participation in the offense.
A Path for Incarcerated Survivors
Passage of the act would give survivors of domestic violence, assault, and human trafficking who are already in prison a chance to apply for a re-sentencing.
Delivering Targeted Justice
The JSA has multiple layers of protections to ensure that individuals whose incarceration is not directly linked to abuse or trafficking cannot receive relief under this law.
Domestic Violence, Assault, and Human Trafficking in Louisiana
From 2017 to 2023, a total of 6,778 individual survivors of human trafficking were identified and provided with victim services in Louisiana.
%
Louisiana has a rate of about 46 rapes per 100,000 people which is 20% higher than the national average.
%
of sexual assaults in Louisiana go unreported.
Their Stories
Mothers. Grandmothers. Teenagers. Victims. Survivors.
Human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual abuse are issues that affect every parish and each demographic in our state. Their stories deserve to be heard in their own words.
