National Assessment of Demand Reduction Efforts, Part II: New Developments in the Primary Prevention of Sex Trafficking, [United States], 2021 (ICPSR 38928)
Version Date: Jan 14, 2026 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Michael Shively, National Center on Sexual Exploitation
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38928.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
To combat prostitution and sex trafficking, criminal justice strategies and collaborative programs have emerged that focus on reducing consumer-level demand. From 2008 to 2012, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) sponsored a study entitled "A National Overview of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Efforts" (referred to as Part I) that featured the systematic collection of information to determine the types and distribution of demand reduction tactics implemented throughout the United States. These efforts gave rise to a typology of law enforcement and community-based tactics identifying 12 different methods for deterring people (mostly men) from buying sex or which sanction those individuals who solicit sex acts. The essential product of that study was the Demand Forum website, launched in January 2013 by Abt Associates. In the years that followed, Demand Forum provided information about demand reduction interventions in the United States, and its content was updated and expanded through daily web searches and supplemented by periodic literature reviews or direct contact with a network of practitioners and other experts. During the website's first seven years of operation, it was viewed by more than 262,000 individuals from 179 countries and was used to shape policy and practice within the United States. However, innovations in the field, primarily new tactics using information technology (IT) to deter buyers and develop evidence to apprehend those actively seeking to purchase sex, have emerged since Demand Forum's launch.
The current study (referred to as Part II) builds upon the methodology and knowledge base of the initial study to keep the field informed of innovations and evolving responses to buyer behaviors and to continue to provide support for practice and policy. Beginning January 2021, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), which now maintains Demand Forum, conducted a systematic assessment of current demand reduction tactics and created an expanded tactic typology to reflect recent innovations intended to reduce the demand that drives sex trafficking markets. The project also aimed to provide updated information and resources that could be used by practitioners. The methodology for identifying new information about existing tactics and their implementation in U.S. cities and counties featured a web-based survey distributed to more than 3,200 law enforcement agencies, more than 50 interviews with expert practitioners and survivors, searches of thousands of open source reports, reviews of the research and practice literature, and reviews of prostitution laws within all 50 states.
NOTE: Data collected from the survey and interviews during this project were intended to verify information about demand reduction tactics and were not meant for analysis. This collection is limited to the online survey data.
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This collection is related to "A National Overview of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Efforts" (referred to as Part I), a previous project by the Principal Investigator supported by the National Institute of Justice (grant number 2008-IJ-CX-0010) upon which this study builds. Part I is not archived at ICPSR.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The purpose of this study was to fill current gaps in knowledge about sex trafficking demand reduction efforts and to inform practitioners and policymakers about tactics employed throughout the United States, specifically adding innovations in technology-based tactics.
Study Design View help for Study Design
The research team revised and updated materials previously used in Part I, primarily adding items on technology-based tactics. The project started with 2,130 sites that were already identified as using demand reduction sites and, by adding three new tactics to the basic framework ("IT-based tactics", "loss of employment", and "other sex buyer arrests"), added 534 new cities and counties and updated information on previously identified cities. More than 800 internet searches were conducted to find law enforcement press releases, reports, and news coverage on contemporary instances of demand reduction events in the United States. In addition, a summary of prostitution laws in all U.S. states was added. The team updated Demand Forum with new web pages and summary documents for each new tactic, indicating cities and counties where the new tactics were used. During the study period, 6,023 substantial updates were made to 2,477 of the 2,664 city/county web pages on Demand Forum.
The online survey for Part II was focused on identifying new cities and counties engaged in demand reduction. A total of 3,206 questionnaires were distributed via email to municipal police departments and sheriff's offices, and 249 completed forms were received within 22 states.
Phone interviews were conducted with 52 individuals to elaborate on the information provided in the online survey, gathering details about specific tactics and their implementation. Four individuals who worked for or founded organizations that use technology-based demand reduction tactics provided written permission to include their identities in project deliverables. For all others, this information was not disclosed.
In addition to the online survey and phone interviews, an expert panel of nine advisors who are survivors of sex trafficking and prostitution provided input on materials and participated in quarterly meetings and other communications throughout the project lifecycle.
The initial study design planned to include intensive case studies involving multiple-day site visits to observe program activities and enforcement operations. Due to the need to increase efforts to additional project tasks, a single site visit was conducted, the findings of which were incorporated into tactics summaries. Communications were conducted electronically due to COVID-19 pandemic risks and restrictions.
Sample View help for Sample
For the online survey, law enforcement agencies were purposively selected in order to sample from strategically important and underrepresented states. From each agency, the person deemed most directly responsible for their organization's role in demand reduction initiatives was asked to serve as a respondent. For technology-based tactics, information was also gathered from the technology developers.
For the phone interviews, interviewees represented a variety of criminal justice agencies, collaborative initiatives, and programs. Selection was site-based and was primarily based on demand reduction tactic type, oversampling for sites that used one of the three new tactics identified during the study ("IT-based tactics", "loss of employment", and "other sex buyer arrests"). Other criteria included use of innovative practices not covered in Part I, geographic distribution and population, and online survey respondents who agreed to be interviewed.
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Universe View help for Universe
U.S. law enforcement agencies and other organizations related to deterring sex trafficking.
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The online survey asked respondents on the types of demand reduction tactics used in their jurisdiction, the year these efforts began, frequency of occurrence (annual basis), number of individuals arrested for prostitution in the last 12 months, and what offenses buyers are charged with. Respondents also indicated if men were ever used as decoys for reverse stings and if women had ever been arrested as potential buyers.
Items covered in the phone interview protocol included how demand reduction operations progressed from initial stages to implementation, challenges and successes in these efforts, program costs and inputs, whether information or data sources could provide operational and performance metrics, and if program documentation (e.g., mission statements, reports, grant proposals, budgets, process evaluations, recidivism rates) could be made available for the study team to review. Interviewees also provided detailed information on each type of demand reduction tactic used by their organization.
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