Kansas City is one of the first cities in the United States to have a “john school” education program for men arrested for soliciting prostituton, and currently has two that operate in the city.  The first was launched in 1992 by the Kansas City Municipal Court and an addiction/counseling center, Community Addictions Programs.  The most prominent current john school program – Offender’s Accountability Re-Education program (OAR) – was launched in 2000 by a non-profit, survivor-led organization, Veronica’s Voice.  A second program is currently operated by Kansas City Corrective Training, a for-profit corporation. Kansas City was also among the cities to make first use of local television in efforts designed specifically to combat demand, by airing the names and photographs of men arrested in reverse stings (1997).  Veronica’s Voice also makes public presentations about the need to combat demand, which they call the End Demand Campaign.

(For our purposes on this website, we cover Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO together, since many of of the programs and practices overlap or operate collaboratively across the city lines.  A similar situation exists in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.)

Veronica’s Voice Offenders Accountability Re-Education, or “Johnz School,” is an intensive, one-day, educational class. The approach brings about intervention for the demand side of prostitution. Attendees are court ordered. This is the only program that is fee-based at Veronica’s Voice. The fees for this program, which are paid by the “customer/john,” go directly to Veronica’s Voice (VV) and are used for all services and programs VV provides to the commercially sexually exploited women in our community.

John School

As an alternative to a conviction, first-time offenders arrested for patronizing prostitution (not involving a minor) are referred to the Johnz School as a condition of probation, diversion, or in lieu of prosecution. The fees collected from the Johnz School go back into Veronica’s Voice services and programming for victims.Regularly scheduled the 3rd Saturday of each month; cost is $850, payable by only cash or money order; certificate of completion granted at the end of the class if the fee is paid in full.

Public Education

In July, 2018, the Kansas Attorney General announced a new awareness campaign in Kansas is aimed at cutting the demand for prostitution as a way to fight human trafficking. The campaign involves state agencies and local advocacy groups teaming up to push the “Demand an End” initiative, which features education and announcements warning people that buyers of sex face charges. The campaign intends to promote a culture where buying sex is not acceptable. It is based on the assumption that the money from sex buyers fuels a marketplace that enables sex trafficking.