The Massachusetts Survivors Act

H.1587/S.1256

Sponsored by Reps Fluker-Reid & Barber and Sen. Rush

The Massachusetts 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.

Why is this bill necessary?

Massachusetts Incarcerates Survivors of Violence and Abuse

In Massachusetts, exposure to violence is common for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.[1] Studies show that 77 percent of incarcerated women have experienced intimate partner violence and 86 percent have survived sexual violence.[2] Survivors of domestic violence, trafficking, and abuse are regularly criminalized for acts of survival or transgressions that derive from the violence and trauma they have endured: for example, a survey of women incarcerated for murder and manslaughter convictions revealed that 30% of women were convicted of an offense that involved protecting themselves or a loved one from violence, 33% of women were convicted of committing the crime with a male partner, and 13% of women were convicted of committing the crime either with an abuser or under duress from an abuser.[3]  Yet a false “victim/offender” binary prevents police, prosecutors, courts, and the public from seeing people who have caused harm as victims/survivors themselves. As a result, 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,[6] 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.”[7] Similar dynamics affect disabled and LGBTQ survivors.[8] 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.

Image created by Mallory Hanora

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.[4] 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.[5] Diversion and re-sentencing create opportunities for people to be held accountable while they heal.

How Would the Survivors Act Help?

1

Interrupts Cycles of Harm


The Survivors Act 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 Survivors Act 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.[9] 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, and by a margin of 3 to 1, respondents preferred holding people accountable through options beyond prison, such as treatment and rehabilitation programs.[10] The Survivors Act creates more opportunities for these outcomes, as opposed to the current law which frequently mandates extreme punishment.

3

Promotes Consistency and Equity

The Survivors Act 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 abuse, sexual assault, or trafficking. The definition of abuse includes physical harm, sexual abuse, or coercive control by a family or household member,[11] or physical harm (actual or threatened) by someone other than a family or household member.[12]

  • 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 Massachusetts Survivors Act would change that by allowing more opportunities for judges to see the bigger picture and order relief. First, the bill permits courts to order pre-trial diversion for survivors. Second, this bill requires courts to impose a lesser sentence where it finds that a person’s criminal conviction was related to their experiences of abuse, sexual assault, or trafficking. Third, 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) and Oklahoma (2024), allowing survivors the opportunity to return home and contribute meaningfully to their communities.[13] Bills like this one are also being considered in Connecticut, Louisiana, Georgia, New Jersey, and elsewhere.

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