The Tahirih Justice Center and partner organizations filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the case E.D. v. Sharkey. The brief supports an asylum seeker and survivor of domestic violence who sued for damages against an employee who had coerced her into having sex while detained at a state-run detention facility. The survivor also sued the co-workers and supervisor who witnessed the abuse.

The brief focuses on the inherent power dynamics between employees at the facilities and detained individuals, making the issue of consent to sexual contact irrelevant to a constitutional claim for damages.