Recognizing that lasting social change is established through sustained efforts, Demand Abolition is developing a multi-year, multi-stakeholder national strategy to eliminate the demand for illegal commercial sex in the United States. Working closely with a strong network of criminal justice professionals, survivors, practitioners, academics, funders, corporate leaders, and policymakers, the strategy aims to establish a national dialogue on demand and to identify and implement demand-reduction interventions that are pragmatic, sustainable, and based on evidence.
As the national strategy emerges, Demand Abolition will initially focus primarily — though not exclusively — on supporting criminal justice efforts to combat demand. The criminal justice sector has the greatest capacity and potential for immediate impact for reducing demand. We also believe that significant change within the criminal justice system’s approach to demand reduction will have an impact on society at-large, thus transforming our culture.
Demand Abolition seeks to abolish the illegal commercial sex industry in the United States by eradicating the demand for purchased sex. Focusing initially on criminal justice system efforts, we are:
- Driving the development and dissemination of a compelling, evidence-based case for eliminating demand while encouraging additional research and evaluation in the field;
- Convincing criminal justice professionals and policymakers of the strategic importance of prioritizing demand reduction;
- Enabling implementation of proven and promising practices, policies, and programs for combating demand at the local, state, and national levels, specifically within the criminal justice system;
- Building a loosely-structured network of multidisciplinary stakeholders positioned to implement or support a broad range of demand reduction initiatives and amplify the abolitionist message; and
- Increasing interest and commitment within the philanthropic community (individuals, foundations, corporations) to support demand reduction work.