Designated a Survivor. Still Treated Like a Criminal: KARA'S STORY

In Florida, there’s technically a legal pathway for sex trafficking survivors to have prostitution-related charges vacated. On paper, it sounds like justice. When people explain it, they make it sound straightforward - file the motion, show your designation, and your life opens back up. That hasn’t been my experience. I was trafficked for more than a decade, moved across state lines, arrested again and again for things I was being forced to do to survive. Eight years ago, I received my official designation recognizing me as a trafficking survivor. I believed that would finally unlock the door - that it would mean relief, recognition, a chance to rebuild without my past following me everywhere. Eight years later, I am still trying to clear all of my charges.