I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2918 
To provide protection for survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, 
and sex trafficking under the Fair Housing Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2023 
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, 
Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOW-
MAN, Ms. BUSH, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, 
Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. IVEY, Mr. 
KHANNA, Ms. KUSTER, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LIEU, Mrs. MCCLEL-
LAN, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MULLIN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. 
NICKEL, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. PORTER, Ms. ROSS, Ms. 
SEWELL, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, 
Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mrs. WATSON COLE-
MAN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. SOTO, and 
Ms. JAYAPAL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide protection for survivors of domestic violence, sex-
ual violence, and sex trafficking under the Fair Housing 
Act. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Housing for Sur-
vivors Act of 2023’’. 
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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 traf-
ficking, 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 vi-
olence, 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 inti-
mate 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. 
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(8) A fundamental component of ending domes-
tic and sexual violence is securing safe and afford-
able 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, in-
cluding sexual exploitation and trafficking. 
(C) Eighty-four percent of survivors in do-
mestic violence shelters reported that they need-
ed help finding affordable housing. The Na-
tional Network to End Domestic Violence’s DV 
Counts Report finds that the majority of sur-
vivors’ 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 fur-
ther sexual victimization and exploitation in-
cluding sex trafficking. 
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(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 sur-
vivors’ vulnerability. Women and men who expe-
rienced food or housing insecurity in a 12- 
month period had a significantly higher preva-
lence 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 home-
less 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 
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have sufficient funds and are not aware of better op-
tions. 
(11) Domestic and sexual violence survivors 
often find themselves trapped in homes where they 
are further victimized by caregivers, parents, sib-
lings, landlords, intimate partners, neighbors, or oth-
ers 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 them-
selves and their families. 
(12) Domestic and sexual violence survivors 
continue to face discrimination in securing and 
maintaining housing based on their status as sur-
vivors 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 discrimina-
tion by landlords is a significant obstacle in obtain-
ing housing. 
(14) Research also shows that survivors of do-
mestic violence or sexual assault are commonly de-
nied housing opportunities if a previous residence of 
the survivor was a domestic violence shelter, if the 
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