Healey releases five-year statewide plan to address sex trafficking

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday released a five-year statewide plan to address sex trafficking.

The plan, released by the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Human Trafficking, “offers a roadmap for Massachusetts with actionable steps to prevent sex trafficking across the state, to improve the lives of survivors, and to hold exploiters and buyers accountable,” Healey said in a statement.

“Human trafficking is happening in our communities – in Massachusetts and across the country and the world,“ Healey said.

“As Attorney General, my office investigated and prosecuted human traffickers while also expanding resources for survivors,” Healey said. “As Governor, I want to make sure we are doing all that we can to prevent human trafficking, hold perpetrators accountable and support survivors.”

This plan, she said, “is an important step toward ending the exploitation of human beings in Massachusetts and protecting survivors across the state.”

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, who chairs the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Human Trafficking, said she’s met with survivors of human trafficking.

“Their stories are important reminders of the urgency behind this work,” Driscoll said.

“This plan came together with the input of advocates, community partners, and people with lived experiences,” Driscoll said. “It outlines meaningful, actionable steps we can take to ensure we’re holding perpetrators accountable and supporting survivors across the state.”

The plan is broken up into six recommendation areas with clearly defined outcomes, state officials said. Each outcome advances a framework for healing, recovery, and accountability over a five-year period.

Officials said the recommendation areas are:

Leadership: Increasing statewide capacity and expertise to address sex trafficking.

Empowerment: Expand support services for survivors.

Justice: Achieve justice for survivors of sex trafficking.

Collaboration: Build sustainable structures and enhance coordination of anti-sex trafficking efforts.

Prevention: Prioritize impactful multi-level prevention efforts.

Measurement: Develop outcome measurement systems and data sharing opportunities.

Read the plan in full here.

The plan development process incorporated a comprehensive stakeholder engagement approach, including a literature review of existing data and strategic plans, a survey of 76 stakeholders, interviews with over 60 individuals, and 10 focus groups with survivors, law enforcement personnel, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other key stakeholders.

Throughout the process, ForHealth Consulting at the UMass Chan Medical School coordinated the development, and officials said survivors provided leadership and guidance through the Human Trafficking Subcommittee Advisory Group, which was specifically convened to inform this plan’s development.

“This initiative marks a turning point in our state’s response to exploitation. By addressing the root causes and streamlining the path to justice and healing, we are setting a new standard for how to support sex trafficking survivors and hold offenders accountable,” said Vilma Uribe, Executive Director of the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Human Trafficking.

The council is also announcing a new trust administered by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services that will be established to help implement the plan through public-private support.

John and Elizabeth McQuillan, Massachusetts philanthropists, have committed to seeding this fund with a direct donation and a matching pledge of an additional $100,000 to encourage other individuals and foundations to donate, officials said. In the first year of the plan, other private sector funders and donors may contribute to the trust to support the Plan.

“Protecting vulnerable people from exploitation requires durable systems, not one-off interventions,” said John McQuillan.

In her first year in office, Healey signed Executive Order 611, expanded the scope of the Council to include Human Trafficking.

The Council is chaired by Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, led by Executive Director Uribe, and includes members of the administration and their respective designees, 34 individuals appointed by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and over 150 subcommittee members.

In her FY27 budget, to better ensure justice for survivors of sexual assault, Governor Healey included an outside section clarifying that all Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits must be stored for a minimum of 15 years and eliminating the statute of limitations in cases of rape when a DNA match exists, allowing for prosecution beyond the 15-year statute of limitations when DNA technology has identified a suspect.

Healey has also signed several laws aimed at protecting and supporting survivors, including expanding protections for victims of sexual assault by health care providers, cracking down on ghost guns and strengthening violence prevention, and banning revenge porn, preventing abuse and exploitation.

“As a survivor, being part of the Human Trafficking Subcommittee’s Survivor Advisory Board is incredibly empowering; it gives people with lived experience a platform to share experiences and insights, allowing for meaningful change,” said Audra Doody, survivor and co-executive director of Safe Exit Initiative.

“The collaborative spirit of dedicated individuals has sparked insistent work to ensure that victims of human trafficking receive not only the best resources and services but also the compassion and understanding they truly deserve, making survivors feel seen and heard in our shared journey towards healing and justice,” Doody said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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