House approves broader protections for trafficking and sexual‑assault victims, adds narrow affirmative defense

The Connecticut House passed legislation intended to expand protections and supports for victims of human trafficking and certain sexual‑assault survivors and to create a narrowly tailored affirmative defense in specific circumstances.

Rep. Saffstrom, who sponsored the bill on the floor, told colleagues the measure would add trafficking and certain sexual‑assault victims as protected classes under anti‑discrimination law, create an affirmative defense for some low‑level offenses when participation in the offense was the direct result of trafficking, and make several technical changes to the trafficking council and training programs.

Members pressed the sponsor at length about the contours of section 16, which creates the affirmative defense. Opponents warned that the defense could be used broadly by defendants who were not credibly trafficked or by perpetrators seeking an easy route to exoneration. Proponents and the sponsor said the defense would not apply automatically — defendants bear the burden by a preponderance of the evidence and the defense applies only when participation in the offense resulted from trafficking. Supporters framed the change as humane relief for victims often coerced into criminal activity.

Other floor exchanges clarified that, where discrimination claims arise under the bill, complainants would use the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) process and that documentation (police reports, dockets, or victim‑advocate notes) would be relied upon in many cases. After extended questioning and debate, the House voted and the clerk announced the bill passed.