Mesa is a city of approximately 510,000 residents, located 20 miles east of Phoenix in Maricopa County, Arizona. Among the problems associated with local prostitution have been the serial killing and serial rapes targeting trafficked girls and women involved in prostitution. For example, in 2011 a man was found guilty of raping two women offering […]
Laurel is a city of approximately 26,000 residents, located in northern Prince George’s County in Maryland. Like their neighbors in North Laurel, the Laurel Police Department has been faced with the challenge of a growing commercial sex market in recent years, including sex trafficking and the assault of prostituted women. For example, in 2010 arrests […]
King County is a county of approximately 2.3 million residents. Its largest city and county seat is Seattle, WA. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been documented as serious and longstanding problems in the county. These activities and their ancillary crimes have generated complaints to local law enforcement from residents and businesses. Additionally, King County has […]
Houston is one of the largest cities in the United States, with over 2.3 million residents, located in Harris County, TX. The large metropolis extends to Galveston Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. Commercial sex continues to occur in a wide variety of venues including streets, hotels, and nightclubs, and storefront brothels (such as nail salons and […]
Hollywood is a city in southeast Florida located within Broward County and has a population of approximately 150,000 residents. Prostitution and sex trafficking are well-documented in the city and surrounding areas. This activity and its ancillary crimes have resulted in complaints to the police from residents and businesses. In addition, targeted assaults, rapes, and homicides […]
Glendale is a city of about 250,000 residents within Maricopa County, Arizona, located northwest of Phoenix. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been well-documented problems in Glendale, and throughout the county, for decades. Among the tactics used to address the have been those intended to combat the consumer-level demand that drives all sex trafficking. For […]
Des Moines is a city of roughly 33,000 residents in King County, WA. It is located just south of Seattle. Among the problems associated with the local commercial sex market have been reports of targeted sexual assault, targeted homicide of prostituted women, and the commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of minors. Consumer-level demand provides the revenue […]
Cook County, Illinois is the population center of the state (pop. 5.17 million) and contains the city of Chicago (pop. 2.7 million), as well as numerous smaller – but still substantial – cities and small towns and unincorporated areas. The county has experienced a wide range of problems associated with commercial sex, including child sex […]
Colorado Springs is a city of approximately 484,000 residents, located south of Denver along Interstate 25 in El Paso County, CO. Prostitution and sex trafficking are well-documented issues in the city. For example, between January 2014 and August 2014, researchers identified and recovered 25 underage victims of commercial sexual exploitation and 34 adult victims in […]
Brooklyn is the most populous borough of New York City, with roughly 2.6 million residents. It is located south of Manhattan in Kings County. Like most large cities, Brooklyn has a long history of commercial sex activity and sex trafficking. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is child sex […]
Demand Forum is powered by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and directed by Dr. Michael Shively, NCOSE's Senior Advisor on Research and Data Analysis. It was originally developed by Dr. Shively and Abt Associates with grant support from the National Institute of Justice. In January 2020 the website transferred to NCOSE. In January 2021, work began on a new grant from NIJ (#2020-75-CX-0011) to update and expand the content presented on Demand Forum.
