What is the Survivors Justice Act?

The Connecticut Survivors Act aims to interrupt cycles of harm by allowing criminalized survivors of abuse, sexual assault, or trafficking to seek relief from extreme punishment. The bill allows courts to consider critical information about survivors’ experiences in order to make informed determinations. It also expands opportunities for survivors to obtain diversion, reduced sentences, and post-conviction sentence reductions.

Connecticut Incarcerates Survivors of Violence and Abuse

Studies show that 77 percent of incarcerated women have experienced intimate partner violence, and 86 percent have survived sexual violence. Survivors are criminalized and punished without any consideration of their experiences of harm.

Survivors from Marginalized Communities Face Particular Risks of Criminalization and Punishment

Black, brown, and working-class survivors face additional barriers to leaving abusive situations, increasing their exposure to violence and thus their risk of participating in or being proximate to harm. Research shows that Black and brown survivors of domestic violence are less likely to be perceived as victims in court, and have been “routinely objectified, overlooked, experienced overt mistreatment, and had their voices minimized by providers within the very systems that were supposed to assist them.” Similar dynamics affect disabled and LGBTQ survivors. Given the structural barriers to leaving abusive situations—which are unevenly distributed across dimensions of race, class, gender, and disability—the criminalization and punishment of survivors is concentrated in communities that have been marginalized.

Logo created by an incarcerated survivor

The Criminalization and Punishment of Survivors is Cruel and Ineffective

The punishment of people who have endured violence and abuse is not only cruel and inhumane, it also does nothing to enhance public safety. Criminalized survivors frequently have no history of violence and pose no risk to society.  Incarcerating survivors of violence only fuels cycles of harm by disrupting community systems of care and punishing people for alleged acts committed in the face of extreme fear and pain. Diversion and re-sentencing create opportunities for people to be held accountable while they heal.

How Would the DVSJA Help?

1

Interrupts Cycles
of Harm

The SJA will interrupt cycles of harm by expanding opportunities for criminalized survivors of abuse, sexual assault, or trafficking to share this information and seek relief at multiple stages of the criminal legal process. 
The Act allows a person whose offense was related to their survivorship to file a motion seeking pre-trial diversion, a reduced sentence, or post-conviction sentencing relief.

2

Promotes Healing Instead
of Punishment

The SJA promotes healing instead of punishment. The bill expands the availability of diversion and sentencing relief, creating more opportunities for meaningful accountability-based practices like restorative and transformative justice—something many people want after experiencing harm. 
Indeed, one survey study found that by a margin of 2 to 1, respondents who had experienced community harm preferred that the criminal legal system focus on rehabilitation instead of punishment. By a margin of 3 to 1, respondents preferred holding people accountable through options beyond prison, such as treatment and rehabilitation programs. 
The Act creates more opportunities for these outcomes, as opposed to the current law, which frequently mandates extreme punishment.

3

Promotes Consistency
and Equity

The SJA also promotes consistency and equity. Under the current law, attorneys already regularly introduce evidence of a survivor’s experiences of violence, but depending on the charge at hand, courts either can’t grant any relief because punishments are mandatory or vary widely in the extent to which they weigh such evidence. 
The extent to which evidence of abuse is considered or believed is also affected by biases and stereotypes, as data show that courts give less weight to experiences of violence when presented by Black women. 
This bill provides guidance to courts and attorneys so that relevant evidence of survivorship is appropriately considered when determining how to prevent and respond to community harm.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • A person is eligible for relief under this bill if they have been accused or convicted of criminal conduct that was related to their experiences of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and/or trafficking. The definition of abuse includes physical harm, sexual abuse, or coercive control by a family or household member, or physical harm (actual or threatened) by someone other than a family or household member.

  • Under the current law, courts can consider mitigating evidence—such as a person’s prior experiences of violence or abuse—at sentencing. However, a court cannot impose a sentence that is below the mandatory minimum sentence for the conviction. In some cases, the mandatory minimum sentence is life or life-without-parole. This means that a judge may see clearly that a person’s offense was related to abuse, that the person poses no danger to society, that punishment would be cruel—and yet their hands are tied. 

    The Connecticut Survivors Justice Act would change that by allowing more opportunities for judges to see the bigger picture and order relief. First, this bill allows courts to impose a lesser sentence where they find that a person’s criminal conviction was related to their experiences of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and/or trafficking. Second, this bill expands the availability of post-conviction relief for survivors who were sentenced before the enactment of this bill.

  • Yes. Similar legislation has been enacted in New York (2019), Oklahoma (2024), and Georgia (2025), allowing survivors the opportunity to return home and contribute meaningfully to their communities. Bills like this one are also being considered in Massachusetts, Louisiana, New Jersey, and elsewhere.

  • Yes. This bill applies to all criminal offenses. Based on learnings from existing SJA legislation, it is critical that there are no offense-based carveouts. Importantly, the bill does not create automatic relief—it only provides discretionary relief for those who meet the criteria.