A bill that would allow survivors of sexual assault and sex trafficking to remain anonymous immediately after a crime is reported was the subject of a legislative public hearing on Thursday. The bill is sponsored by Senator Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln.
“LB 1246 will help both minors and adults by maintaining the confidentiality of their identity and by withholding identifying information from the public record until criminal charges are filed,” Pansing Brooks says. “There have been incidents in Nebraska where victims of trafficking have been physically harmed or received death threats from their traffickers after reporting to law enforcement.”
Molly Nocita is a sexual assault survivor and advocate for sex trafficking victims. She says keeping a victim’s personal information from public record is critical. “You’re giving that person time to safety plan for themselves and their family, time to figure out where to move, time to figure out how to live and time to continue to ensure that they are safe in their workplace.”
Pansing Brooks says the overall goal is to protect victims and the integrity of the processes in place to support them.