HR 756: General Assembly; preserve access to safety and justice for all survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking; encourage

House Resolution 756

By: Representatives Lim of the 98th, Carpenter of the 4th, Santos of the 117th, Tran of the 80th, Clark of the 108th, and others

A RESOLUTION

Encouraging the General Assembly to preserve access to safety and justice for all survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking by adopting language that ensures protection for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other crimes to safely report to and assist law enforcement, and to prevent the assistance from law enforcement from being used as a tool of control and abuse; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, Georgia is home to a diverse immigrant population where one out of every ten Georgia residents is an immigrant and one in 13 Georgia residents is U.S. born with at least one immigrant parent; and

WHEREAS, immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other crimes often face significant barriers to safety, including fear of escalated violence, threats of deportation, and language access; and

WHEREAS, immigrants experience abuse at twice the rate of the general U.S. population, and when married to a U.S. citizen, the rate of abuse is three times higher; and

WHEREAS, Georgia ranks third nationally in detained immigrant populations, which contributes to an environment of fear among immigrant communities; and

WHEREAS, survivors who fear criminalization are less likely to report crime, and it is a common tactic of power and control for abusers to keep immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking silent by threatening to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and have them deported; and

WHEREAS, if detained and deported, key witnesses and victims of crime in Georgia will no longer be available to local law enforcement as they seek to crack down on human trafficking and domestic violence crimes; and

WHEREAS, data shows that when laws like HB 1105 are passed, immigrant survivors of human trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence become even more afraid to leave their homes to seek safety and shelter for fear of being profiled by law enforcement.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body encourage the preservation and access to safety and justice for all survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking by adopting language that ensures protection for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other crimes to safely report to law enforcement.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the General Assembly.