Connecticut Earns an 'F' in Shared Hope International’s 2025 'Just Like Me' Report Card

Showing Progress in Survivor-Centered Legislation but Highlighting Urgent Gaps

CT, UNITED STATES, October 15, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Shared Hope International (SHI), a national leader in combating child and youth sex trafficking, today announced Connecticut’s results in the 2025 Just Like Me Report Cards. Connecticut earned a score of 50, a grade of “F”, and ranked #32 nationally, placing it in Tier 2 among all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The Just Like Me Report Cards, released nationally by Shared Hope on October 14, feature a new survivor-informed 10-point legislative agenda designed to end the unjust criminalization of trafficking survivors and promote systemic, trauma-informed legal reform.

Connecticut’s Progress
Despite its overall grade, Connecticut has taken meaningful steps toward improving survivor protections and access to justice. Shared Hope has provided technical assistance to partners in the state to help strengthen survivor-centered laws, particularly in areas related to non-criminalization and vacatur. These partnerships aim to support the development of policy solutions that prevent survivors from being penalized for crimes resulting from their victimization.

2025 Just Like Me Report Card Highlights for Connecticut:
-Connecticut prohibits the criminalization of children for prostitution offenses, and is one of the earliest states to establish this protection in law.
-Crime victim compensation is specifically available to child trafficking survivors and exceptions to ineligibility criteria reduce barriers to seeking this relief.
-Survivors convicted of misdemeanors, Class C–E felonies, and unclassified felonies with sentences up to 10 years can vacate convictions resulting from trafficking victimizations.

Shared Hope’s analysis identifies Connecticut as a state with strong potential for growth, noting that several of the state’s pending policy initiatives could dramatically improve its score in future report cards. Areas needing attention include expanding survivor access to comprehensive services and enacting broader protections for offenses committed as a result of trafficking victimization.

A Framework for Long-Term Reform
The Just Like Me framework replaces Shared Hope’s former 40-point grading system with a focused 10-point Legislative Agenda, emphasizing the most complex and transformative reforms needed to achieve true justice for survivors. Each policy goal is informed by lived experience and backed by more than 15 years of legislative research and policy analysis.

In January 2026, Shared Hope will release a companion resource—the Just Like Me Policymaker’s Guide—providing a detailed statutory analysis of over 30 additional policy areas essential to building stronger, survivor-centered state responses to child and youth sex trafficking. This policy guide will be a critical supplement to the technical assistance Shared Hope provides to lawmakers and advocates seeking to improve their state’s legislative framework for supporting trafficked children and youth.

About Shared Hope International
Founded in Vancouver, WA, Shared Hope International is a global leader in the fight against sex trafficking. Through prevention programs, survivor restoration services, and legislative advocacy, Shared Hope works to end sex trafficking and support survivors on their journey to healing and rebuilding their lives.

Media Contact:
John Lang
Director of Marketing and Development
Shared Hope International
john@sharedhope.org | 757-617-9561

For more information about Shared Hope Report Cards, visit https://reportcards.sharedhope.org/

John Lang
Shared Hope Internatonal
+1 757-617-9561
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