As New York lawmakers prepare for hours of debate in the last scheduled week of session, a bill expected to easily clear both houses in the next few days would grant immunity to sex workers and survivors of human trafficking who help law enforcement with a criminal investigation.

The bipartisan-backed sex worker immunity bill is unrelated to decriminalizing sex work in New York, but would protect sex workers from going to jail for reporting a crime to law enforcement.

Sex workers, victims of prostitution of sex trafficking, commonly have a crime committed against them or become aware of a crime, but fear the repercussions of going to jail themselves if they discuss it with police or medical professionals.

"The law is really comprehensive in that way to make sure that people have access to health care, to law enforcement, without being arrested themselves," said Jared Trujillo, a former sex worker from New York City.

Trujillo, who works as an associate professor at CUNY School of Law, said the immunity bill would benefit female and LGBTQ-plus sex workers who are victims of sexual violence the most frequently.

"The ability to sexually victimize these folks is even higher," Trujillo said. "One thing that this bill also does is it takes off that coercion. It takes out that 'Hey, if you do this for me, I won't arrest you.' It takes that off of the table. So it should make sex workers a lot more comfortable reporting violence agianst them or something that they experiences or that they see."

The measure, on the floor calendar of both houses of the Legislature, ensures sex workers' immunity through every step of prosecution, protects sex workers who live or work together and includes prostitution that occurs in a school zone.

Law enforcement, district attorneys and lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle support the change and say it will aid in criminal cases and end sexual violence sooner.

"It's a human rights bill, plain and simple," Assembly sponsor Anna Kelles said Monday. "Regardless of who someone is, we would want them to have basic human rights and basic protections."

The bill picked up steam in the Legislature in wake of the New York architect suspected of killing multiple women on Long Island's Gilgo Beach. 

"There is some evidence that that would have been addressed about 10 years earlier because there was evidecne that sex workers had to address some of the issues and help the investigation," the assemblywoman said.

Kelles said the conversation is changing about seeing sex workers as human beings who must receive the proper protections.

Republicans in both houses widely support the legislation, though not unanimously.

State Sen. Dean Murray, an East Patchogue Republican, plans to vote in favor of the bill, and said sex workers who've been abused or have knowledge of crimes should not be afraid of speaking with authorities.

"With this in place, this will let them know you're safe — you're free to talk to authorities without the threat of being charged for something that could be somewhat unrelated," Murray said.