Sex trafficking lawsuits against buildings create surveillance systems that harm women more than help them
Source: Elizabeth Nolan Brown. "Sex trafficking lawsuits target apartment buildings, hotels, and nightclubs." February 18, 2026. reason.com
The Gist
The author argues that lawsuits trying to make apartment buildings and hotels responsible for stopping sex trafficking will backfire. Instead of making women safer, these cases will create a system where women are constantly watched and questioned about their clothes, visitors, and sex lives.
Conclusion
Lawsuits holding apartment buildings, hotels, and nightclubs liable for sex trafficking will create increased surveillance of women rather than making them safer
Premises
- The legal standards these lawsuits establish would require building staff to monitor and report on women's clothing, visitors, sexual activity, and personal behavior
- Building staff cannot reasonably distinguish between consensual adult activity and trafficking based on observable behaviors like provocative dress, multiple male visitors, or presence of condoms
- Expecting maintenance workers, doormen, and hotel staff to identify and report suspected trafficking based on ambiguous signs would lead to harassment of marginalized groups and all women
- The specific allegations in recent cases rely on staff behaviors that are either normal business practices or actions by individual employees that management wouldn't necessarily know about
- Sexual abusers and traffickers can easily move to more private or underground locations if public venues become heavily monitored
- Many trafficking victims don't seek help due to complex psychological and social factors, not because they lack access to the outside world
Assumptions
- The primary goal should be actually protecting women rather than appearing to take action
- Increased surveillance and monitoring of women's behavior is inherently harmful
- Building staff and hospitality workers are not qualified to identify sex trafficking
- Legal liability will drive businesses toward over-surveillance rather than appropriate responses
- There are better alternatives to help trafficking victims than creating surveillance networks