Dear Friend,

As we are now halfway through the year, I wanted to share some progress we’ve made towards our core objective to stop sex buying in order to end sex trafficking and all exploitation.  

The only way to significantly decrease these atrocities is to target sex buying behavior which drives the demand for more victims. 

NCOSE’s Research Institute is finishing a federal grant to identify tactics used to deter sex buying behavior. The government then wants us to further train law enforcement and key officials on these tactics. This information will be updated on our online tool, Demand Forum, and is needed to set the foundation for our strategy to shift law enforcement focus to target the real criminals in this situation – the sex buyers, rather than victims.   

NCOSE’s policy team has helped to pass legislation in 4 states, latest in Utah, with increased accountability for sex buyers and more services for those who are harmed. We have also stopped pro-exploitation groups from passing legislation at the state-level that would decriminalize sex buying, pimping, and brothel-keeping. We have identified and halted efforts at the highest level in the federal government to remove sex buyers from the equation of sex trafficking. 

To equip law enforcement to take the steps needed to reduce demand for sex trafficked and prostituted persons, NCOSE launched its ELEET Initiative. This initiative equips and empowers law enforcement to combat sex buying through training sessions that go beyond a superficial mention of demand. ELEET shares the latest hard data on sex buyers from the NCOSE Demand Forum database. It examines how sex buyers contribute to other crimes, reviews a 15-point typology of demand reduction tactics used by law enforcement, highlights current efforts across the country to combat sex buying, and helps law enforcement overcome challenges in carrying out law enforcement activities.

After a recent training session in Montpelier, Vermont, the police chief there wrote:

“I would like to thank the National Center on Sexual Exploitation for the training we received from you in Vermont … The training went beyond our expectations, and is “World Class.” It resulted in unprecedented discussion and collaboration between municipal, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, legislative staff, Prosecutors, and Victim Specialists in identifying and investigating sexual trafficking within our state … Those who attended provided me with overwhelmingly positive feedback, often citing that this was training which should be brought back for others to learn from.” 

Thank you for partnering with us as too few others are addressing the most significant factor driving sex trafficking – the demand. It is only by stopping sex buyers that we ultimately stop so many from falling victim to this pernicious evil.  

Two things you can do right now: 

1. Give what you can to support our efforts.
All online donations up to $50,000 will be matched this month!