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Human Trafficking Prevention Month serves as a crucial reminder of the ongoing battle against sex trafficking. For years, society has relied heavily on the criminal justice system and victim advocacy to address the national crisis of human trafficking. While these efforts are invaluable, there is an underutilized avenue for combating trafficking that has the potential to create systemic change: the civil justice system. This tool actively disrupts trafficking networks by delivering justice for survivors, holding profiteers accountable, and cutting off the resources traffickers rely on.

To effect lasting societal change, we must expand our strategies and take innovative approaches. Combating trafficking requires dismantling the infrastructure that traffickers use to operate and holding businesses and entities that facilitate or profit from trafficking accountable.

The Role of the Civil Justice System

The civil justice system offers survivors a vital path to justice beyond the criminal courts. By pursuing lawsuits against businesses that enable trafficking, we can hit traffickers and their enablers where it hurts most: their profits. Civil litigation not only compensates survivors for the harm they have endured but also creates financial and reputational consequences for businesses that turn a blind eye to trafficking.

However, lasting change requires collective action from individuals, businesses, and institutions. The civil justice system alone cannot combat trafficking—it must work in tandem with the efforts of advocacy groups, law enforcement, and policymakers to create a multi-pronged approach to prevention and justice. Companies must recognize their role in this fight and take meaningful steps to disrupt trafficking networks.

The Hospitality Industry Must Do Better

Hotels and other entities in the hospitality industry are often complicit in trafficking operations. They provide safe havens for traffickers, offering rooms away from public scrutiny, direct access for buyers, and sometimes even warnings about law enforcement stings. These actions—or inactions—facilitate trafficking ventures and prioritize profit over people.

The hospitality industry must take a stand. Companies need to adopt and enforce policies that protect victims and prevent traffickers from exploiting their properties. When they fail to do so, civil lawsuits become a critical tool for holding them accountable. We must demand more corporate responsibility.

Our Commitment to Survivors and Change

At Singleton Schreiber, we are committed to using every tool at our disposal to combat trafficking. Every survivor we represent is a reminder of the importance of our work. Singleton Schreiber’s Sexual Assault Practice Group is committed to helping survivors of sexual assault and abuse seek justice and accountability. Our firm has extensive experience litigating against powerful institutions and corporations and have achieved six-figure and multimillion-dollar results for our clients.

By leveraging the civil justice system, we can hold businesses accountable, disrupt trafficking networks, and deliver justice for survivors. Together, we can make meaningful strides toward ending sex trafficking. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact Singleton Schreiber for a free, confidential consultation.