[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1293 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1293

   To provide protection for survivors of domestic violence, sexual 
       violence, and sex trafficking under the Fair Housing Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 26, 2023

 Mrs. Shaheen introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide protection for survivors of domestic violence, sexual 
       violence, and sex trafficking under the Fair Housing Act.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Housing for Survivors Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Cities, towns, and rural communities in the United 
        States continue to face enormous challenges regarding domestic 
        violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, dating violence, 
        stalking, and other forms of intimate partner and gender-based 
        violence.
            (2) One in three women and one in ten men in the United 
        States have experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by 
        an intimate partner in their lifetime.
            (3) Intimate partner violence alone affects more than 
        12,000,000 people in the United States every year.
            (4) Approximately 7,000,000 women are raped or physically 
        assaulted by a current or former intimate partner each year.
            (5) Among women experiencing sex trafficking, many of their 
        traffickers are also their intimate partners.
            (6) Each day, an average of three women are killed by a 
        current or former partner.
            (7) Researchers estimate that domestic violence costs 
        employers up to $13,000,000,000 each year.
            (8) A fundamental component of ending domestic and sexual 
        violence is securing safe and affordable housing for survivors.
            (9) Research indicates that:
                    (A) As many as fifty-seven percent of homeless 
                women report that domestic violence was the immediate 
                cause of their homelessness.
                    (B) Ninety-two percent of homeless women report 
                having experienced severe physical or sexual violence 
                at some point in their lives, including sexual 
                exploitation and trafficking.
                    (C) Eighty-four percent of survivors in domestic 
                violence shelters reported that they needed help 
                finding affordable housing. The National Network to End 
                Domestic Violence's DV Counts Report finds that the 
                majority of survivors' unmet needs are related to 
                housing and shelter. In another nationwide study, more 
                than half of the victims who identified a need for 
                housing services did not receive them.
                    (D) Survivors who become homeless as a result of 
                sexual assault are vulnerable to further sexual 
                victimization and exploitation including sex 
                trafficking.
                    (E) Women of color in the lowest income category 
                experience six times the rate of nonfatal intimate 
                partner violence compared to white women in the highest 
                income category.
                    (F) Poor women of color, domestic violence 
                survivors, and women with children are among those at 
                the highest risk of eviction.
                    (G) Housing insecurity can exacerbate survivors' 
                vulnerability. Women and men who experienced food or 
                housing insecurity in a 12-month period had a 
                significantly higher prevalence of rape, physical 
                violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in that 
                same time period, as compared to those who did not 
                experience food or housing insecurity.
                    (H) Vulnerable women are also at risk of sex 
                trafficking and exploitation by landlords who pressure 
                them for sex in exchange for rent or a delay in rent 
                payments.
                    (I) Approximately thirty-eight percent of all 
                survivors of domestic violence become homeless at some 
                point in their life.
            (10) Surveys show that a majority of survivors who 
        experience a sexual assault in their home do not relocate to a 
        safe environment because they do not have sufficient funds and 
        are not aware of better options.
            (11) Domestic and sexual violence survivors often find 
        themselves trapped in homes where they are further victimized 
        by caregivers, parents, siblings, landlords, intimate partners, 
        neighbors, or others in or near their home. Economic insecurity 
        and the trauma that often follows sexual violence make it 
        difficult, if not impossible, for many survivors to access 
        safe, affordable housing options for themselves and their 
        families.
            (12) Domestic and sexual violence survivors continue to 
        face discrimination in securing and maintaining housing based 
        on their status as survivors and as a result of crimes 
        committed against them.
            (13) Research by the Attorney General of the State of New 
        York found that sixty-seven percent of domestic violence 
        survivors reported that discrimination by landlords is a 
        significant obstacle in obtaining housing.
            (14) Research also shows that survivors of domestic 
        violence or sexual assault are commonly denied housing 
        opportunities if a previous residence of the survivor was a 
        domestic violence shelter, if the survivor has secured a 
        protective order, or if there is other evidence that the 
        survivor has experienced a previous domestic violence incident.
            (15) Studies show that survivors of domestic violence or 
        sexual assault often face eviction based on a single domestic 
        violence incident.
            (16) Survivors of sex trafficking face additional 
        challenges in obtaining and maintaining housing due to criminal 
        records incurred as a direct result of their exploitation.
            (17) It is in the public interest to ensure that survivors 
        of domestic violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, dating 
        violence, stalking, and other forms of intimate partner and 
        gender-based violence are not discriminated against, 
        particularly with respect to housing, based on their status as 
        victims of the crimes committed against them.

SEC. 3. SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR SEXUAL ASSAULT AS PROTECTED 
              CLASS UNDER THE FAIR HOUSING ACT.

    (a) In General.--The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is 
amended--
            (1) in section 802 (42 U.S.C. 3602), by adding at the end 
        the following:
    ``(p) `Domestic violence'--
            ``(1) has the meaning given the term in section 40002(a) of 
        the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)); 
        and
            ``(2) includes--
                    ``(A) dating violence and stalking, as such terms 
                are defined in such section 40002(a); and
                    ``(B) threatened domestic violence.
    ``(q) `Sexual assault'--
            ``(1) has the meaning given the term in section 40002(a) of 
        the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)); 
        and
            ``(2) includes threatened sexual assault.
    ``(r) `Severe forms of trafficking in persons' has the meaning 
given the term in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 
of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
    ``(s) `Coercion' has the meaning given the term in section 103 of 
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
    ``(t) `Survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or severe 
forms of trafficking in persons' includes any person who experienced or 
is perceived to have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, or 
severe forms of trafficking in persons.'';
            (2) in section 804 (42 U.S.C. 3604)--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``or national 
                origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
                person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
                assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
                    (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``or national 
                origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
                person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
                assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
                    (C) in subsection (c), by striking ``or national 
                origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
                person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
                assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
                    (D) in subsection (d), by striking ``or national 
                origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
                person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
                assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons''; 
                and
                    (E) in subsection (e), by striking ``or national 
                origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
                person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
                assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
            (3) in section 805 (42 U.S.C. 3605)--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``or national 
                origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
                person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
                assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons''; 
                and
                    (B) in subsection (c), by striking ``or familial 
                status'' and inserting ``familial status, or whether a 
                person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
                assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
            (4) in section 806 (42 U.S.C. 3606), by striking ``or 
        national origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or whether a 
        person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or 
        severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
            (5) in section 807 (42 U.S.C. 3607), by adding at the end 
        the following:
    ``(c) Nothing in this title shall prohibit a Federal, State, unit 
of local government, or other assistance or preference program from 
being designed to assist or benefit survivors of domestic violence, 
sexual assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons in seeking, 
securing, or maintaining dwellings, shelters, or any other form of 
housing for such survivors, including associated notices, statements, 
or advertisements of such dwelling.''; and
            (6) in section 808(e)(6) (42 U.S.C. 3608(e)(6)), by 
        inserting ``status as a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
        assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons,'' after 
        ``handicap,''.
    (b) Prevention of Intimidation in Fair Housing Cases.--The Civil 
Rights Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 901 (42 U.S.C. 3631)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subsection (a), by 
                inserting ``or coercion'' after ``threat of force'';
                    (B) in subsection (a), by striking ``or national 
                origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or because 
                the person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
                assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons'';
                    (C) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``or national 
                origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or because a 
                person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
                assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons''; 
                and
                    (D) in subsection (c), by striking ``or national 
                origin'' and inserting ``national origin, or because a 
                person is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual 
                assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons''; 
                and
            (2) by inserting after section 901 the following:

``SEC. 902. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this title, the terms `domestic violence', `sexual assault', 
`severe forms of trafficking in persons', `coercion', and `survivor of 
domestic violence, sexual assault, or severe forms of trafficking in 
persons' shall have the meaning given such terms in section 802.''.
    (c) Preservation of Survivors' Ability To Recover for Other Forms 
of Discrimination.--Nothing in this Act, or an amendment made by this 
Act, shall be interpreted to limit the ability of survivors of domestic 
violence, sexual assault, or severe forms of trafficking in persons to 
recover for any other claims of discrimination under the Fair Housing 
Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), including with respect to failure to 
conform to gender stereotypes or policies that disproportionately 
affect women.
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