2025 50-State Survey of Laws that Protect Survivors from Criminalization

April 29, 2025 (Washington, DC) – The Justice for Youth Survivors Initiative (JYSI) is pleased to announce the launch of an exciting new resource: a user-friendly, clickable 50-State Survey and accompanying trend analysis of state laws that protect survivors of gender-based violence, including trafficking, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault. This accessible resource, created by the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law, compiles and analyzes laws that can help attorneys provide essential context and evidence in court to reduce survivor-defendants’ sentencing, resentencing, presentation of affirmative defenses, and more. These tools are free to use and will be updated regularly.  

JYSI, launched in 2024, is a collaborative project seeking to end the unjust criminalization of girls and gender-expansive youth who are survivors of sexual violence. The Initiative is led by the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law and the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, with input and leadership by girls and law students.

“These resources are designed to help end the unjust criminalization of survivors,” said Rebecca Epstein, Executive Director of the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law. “By providing a comprehensive analysis of laws across all states, we’re equipping attorneys, policymakers, advocates, and community leaders with the tools they need to represent survivors and drive meaningful policy change.”

The 50-State Survey arrives at a pivotal moment as states nationwide introduce new legislation that supports survivors of sexual abuse. The Georgia Survivor Justice Act (House Bill 582) is the latest example of this trend, proposing significant changes to how the criminal justice system treats survivors of domestic abuse. The interactive tool also enables users to explore key legal provisions, access direct links to statutes, and review concise summaries across four law categories: safe harbor laws, self-defense provisions, mitigation/reduced sentencing options, and expungement and vacatur laws. The accompanying trend analysis document identifies common elements across state laws and highlights the states that have enacted laws protecting survivors of abuse.

“The strategies that girls take to survive abuse are often criminalized, creating an abuse-to-incarceration pipeline that overwhelmingly targets Black girls and other girls of color,” said Sydney McKinney, Executive Director of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute. “Our girls deserve better. They deserve protection, healing, and support—not punishment—for surviving abuse, exploitation, and gender-based violence. This new tool highlights some promising approaches and is a step toward better, more supportive responses to girls who have survived trauma.”

The 50-State Survey reflects JYSI’s commitment to transforming the legal system in service of a just, safe, and liberated world for survivors of child sex trafficking, abuse, and assault. The JYSI team invites attorneys, policymakers, advocates, and community members to utilize this tool as they work together to combat the criminalization of survivors and build pathways to true justice.

The 50-State Survey and trend analysis were developed in partnership with the Center on Gender Justice and Opportunity and Baker McKenzie’s Justice in Action program. For more information about JYSI and how to get involved, please visit www.jysi.org or contact info@jysi.org.

You can watch the recording of our conversation about this important tool here:

About the Justice for Youth Survivors Initiative

The Justice for Youth Survivors Initiative exists to forge a just, safe, and liberated world for survivors of child sexual trafficking, assault, and abuse. Led by the lived experiences of girls, we champion trauma-informed and gender-responsive approaches to transform the legal field and end the abuse-to-prison pipeline for girls. For more information, visit: https://jysi.org/

About the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law

The Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law works to uncover and eliminate gender and racial disparities across public systems, including in schools, courtrooms, and hospitals. Informed by the lived experiences of girls and women, the Center investigates the root causes of injustice through industry-leading research, proposes solutions-oriented changes to law and policy, and engages stakeholders and the public to create momentum and meaningful change. Learn more about the Center.

About the National Black Women’s Justice Institute

The National Black Women’s Justice Institute researches the criminalization of Black women and girls and elevates innovative, community-led solutions to address it. We aim to dismantle the racist and patriarchal U.S. criminal-legal system and build, in its place, pathways to opportunity and healing. For more information, visit: https://www.nbwji.org/