About NCOSE
WHY NCOSE?
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) exists because people should be free to live and love without sexual abuse and exploitation.
We believe in a world free from sexual abuse and exploitation. We believe every human being deserves the opportunity to live life to its fullest potential; to pursue dreams and ambitions; express creativity and hone talents; seek beauty, truth, and faith; experience hope, joy, and love with family and friends—to thrive. Such a vision requires not only individuals and institutions that work towards its realization but also a culture that embraces its responsibility to preserve and protect human flourishing. We aspire to create that culture.
*While we are dedicated to the service of others by paving the way to a world free of exploitation, please know we do not provide direct services or crisis care, and we are not local or Federal law enforcement.
If you are facing an emergency, please immediately call 911.
WHAT DOES NCOSE DO?
NCOSE is the leading 501c(3) non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual abuse and exploitation.
Taking down the multi-billion-dollar sexual exploitation industry is no easy feat. NCOSE has built the infrastructure that is equipped to stand toe-to-toe against the world’s pornographers, pimps/sex traffickers, sex buyers, and exploitation profiteers. With an expansive grassroots network, Research Institute, embedded litigation law firm, training team, and global coalition—paired with our cutting-edge public policy and corporate advocacy tactics—NCOSE is realizing major progress every day. Victories that used to take years are now happening within weeks!
HOW DOES NCOSE FIGHT FOR HUMAN DIGNITY?
- NCOSE is nonpartisan and nonsectarian because the fight for human dignity knows no political or religious boundaries. The inherent harms and oppression of sexual abuse and exploitation impact people regardless of their age, nationality, race, sex, sexual orientation, or creed.
- NCOSE loves people and partnerships. This is why we work relentlessly to build a diverse movement that welcomes all people committed to defending human dignity.
- NCOSE’s work is premised on the following principles:
- We view the commodification of people for sex as inherently harmful,
- We support laws which seek to decrease and ultimately end demand by strongly penalizing those who pay to use the bodies of other people for sex,
- We work to create robust services for those seeking freedom from organized systems of sexual exploitation,
- We prevent sexual exploitation by opposing policies and reforming systems which facilitate harm, and
- We support legal reforms that decriminalize victimization.
We are committed to walking alongside survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse.
WHAT MAKES NCOSE DIFFERENT?
Experience and Perspective
With six decades of experience to its credit, NCOSE brings a unique historical perspective to combating modern manifestations of sexual abuse and exploitation. Our rich history of experience provides us with longitudinal knowledge that others may lack.
A Multidisciplinary Team
In order to implement the powerful tactics and projects highlighted below, NCOSE works to end sexual abuse and exploitation entirely—rather than manage their impact—via a strong multidisciplinary team. Accordingly, NCOSE has brought together many of the world’s top experts on these issues into one team in order to holistically address systems of sexual abuse and exploitation from all angles. As a result of our multidisciplinary approach—which includes unifying the movement, research, training, litigation, corporate and legislative advocacy—NCOSE is highly efficient at implementing effective solutions that maximize its resources.
The Voice in our Courts and Legislatures
Most other movements are active in the courts and legislatures where policy and law play a role in setting the tone for culture. Now, under NCOSE’s leadership, the movement for human dignity has a voice addressing the spectrum of sexual abuse and exploitation.
NCOSE has a litigating law firm embedded within its 501c(3) to seek justice for survivors and accountability for the kingpins of sexual exploitation. The NCOSE Law Center is filing lawsuits and is assisting with dozens more against entities like Twitter, Pornhub, Wyndham Hotels, and the state of Nevada.
NCOSEAction, a 501c(4) political action organization created by NCOSE, exists to ensure that good laws are passed and bad laws are prevented from being enacted. We advocate for services and justice for survivors, safeguards for children online, and for accountability for those who are a part of the infrastructure which props up systems of sexual abuse and exploitation.
A Holistic Approach
NCOSE is steadfastly committed to addressing the web of sexual abuse and exploitation in its entirety. Forms of sexual harm intersect, overlap, reinforce, and fuel each other. This reality creates pernicious sectors of sexual exploitation and injustice which destroy lives and devour hope. We leverage this understanding to develop projects which strike deep at the roots of the systems which support and sustain sexual abuse and exploitation.
Many efforts to combat sexual abuse and exploitation focus on one or two issues. Such focused efforts are good and necessary as a part of the movement to end sexual abuse and exploitation, but they can also result in “siloing” wherein individualized and specialized sectors of networks, information, and resources have difficulty recognizing and addressing key intersections between various forms of sexual abuse and exploitation. Unfortunately, when unaddressed, this reality can yield diminished results. Accordingly, NCOSE firmly believes that highlighting the ways in which sexual abuse and exploitation overlap and connect is an essential strategy that advances the entire movement.
This is why NCOSE is committed to understanding and addressing a wide-ranging and interrelated array of topics including, but not limited to, child sexual abuse, child-on-child harmful sexual behavior, compulsive sexual behaviors, demand for sexual exploitation, illicit massage businesses, image-based sexual abuse, institutional sexual abuse, men’s violence against women, the neurological impacts of sexual trauma, the public health harms of pornography, prostitution, sex trafficking, sexual harassment and assault, sexual objectification, stripping, as well as the intersection of these issues with technology.
HIGHLIGHTED ACTIVITIES
The Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation (CESE)
The world is experiencing unremitting sexual abuse and exploitation. We will succeed in stemming this tide of sexual harm only by standing together in unity. The NCOSE-led Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation (CESE) mobilizes the global movement to end sexual abuse and exploitation by coordinating strategy, developing joint campaigns, providing training and networking opportunities, as well as by promoting unity and collaboration among 600+ organizations, survivor leaders, academics, advocates, corporate executives, and policymakers from around the world. NCOSE’s annual CESE Global Summit brings together movement leaders and aspiring advocates to learn, network, and strategize for a world free from sexual harm.
Corporate Advocacy
Mainstream corporations prop up, legitimize and, in some instances, gain immense profits from the sex industry while also setting a tone which normalizes sexual harm in our culture. NCOSE’s annual Dirty Dozen List—a powerful campaign which brings accountability to the mainstream corporate players in America which are perpetuating sexual exploitation—shines light on poor business policies and practices as well as crediting good actions in order to spark further corporate social responsibility and drive the formation of industry-wide safety standards. Our corporate advocacy efforts also include consultation with and training for corporate executives on the intersection of sexual exploitation with subjects like homelessness, racism, misogyny, and technology, as well as in regard to how their business can help foster a world free from sexual abuse and exploitation.
Education and Training
Over the past several years, NCOSE has become well known as a training and educational resource. This is due to NCOSE being recognized by many across the globe as hosting the strongest conferences which convene leaders and experts from across the movement, as well as its issue-specific conferences which provide education on overlooked issues. This reputation has resulted in corporations, professionals, and government leaders repeatedly requesting NCOSE-led training as they became aware of our standard of excellence.
International Centre on Sexual Exploitation
Sexual abuse and exploitation are global tragedies affecting millions of people and national governments, multi-lateral institutions, and multi-national corporate actors play a major part in their facilitation and normalization. Many individuals and groups working around the world to address these issues lack critical resources and information that would greatly advance their mission. Therefore, the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation seeks to strengthen and amplify the efforts of international allies by working collaboratively with them to 1) develop and conduct international advocacy campaigns, 2) share information on the latest research and policy developments, and 3) leverage our networks to open doors to key policymakers.
The Law Center
In the decades-long vacuum of a national legal strategy on the wide array of sexual exploitation issues, pro-sexual exploitation lobbyists stepped in to promote radical and damaging legislation. They also filed lawsuits which threatened to create—and in some cases succeeded at establishing—legal precedents which normalize pornography, prostitution, grooming of children for sexual abuse, and sex trafficking. Stepping in to fill this void, NCOSE’s Law Center is filing groundbreaking lawsuits, providing critical policy analysis of federal and state legislation, building networks of state-level activists, submitting amicus briefs on potentially precedent setting cases, as well as training and mentoring the next generation of legal advocates committed to fighting sexual exploiters.
Legislative Policy
NCOSE’s legislative policy efforts aim to defend dignity and combat sexploitation through political advocacy at the national and state levels with bi-partisan support of all legislative solutions. We believe this task is both offensive and defensive in that we must prevent bad legislation from being enacted while working to proactively educate Congress and state legislatures so that policymakers instead produce good legislation that will help protect victims of sexual exploitation as well as prevent sexual exploitation.
The Research Institute
Efforts to address and prevent large-scale sexual abuse and exploitation issues require specialized knowledge and information, but information—even limitless information—is powerless unless it is able to be accessed, analyzed, and shared. This is why NCOSE’s Research Institute works to identify, analyze, curate, and channel information to empower the efforts of all those concerned with ending sexual abuse and exploitation. NCOSE’s Research Institute also collaborates on original research projects, provides resources through its online Resource Center directory for those who struggle with pornography and their families, and powers Demand-Forum—a comprehensive online resource for people seeking the tools to end demand for prostitution and sex trafficking.
Summary
This overview of NCOSE’s major projects only skims the surface of the depth and breadth of our work. To learn more, explore our other projects and initiatives.
FAQs
Yes. We are a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all contributions are fully tax-deductible. Learn more about our finances here: endsexualexploitation.org/about/finances
Learn more about our finances here: endsexualexploitation.org/about/finances
NCOSE is nonpartisan and nonsectarian because the fight for human dignity knows no political or religious boundaries. The inherent harms and oppression of sexual abuse and exploitation impact people regardless of their age, nationality, race, sex, sexual orientation, or creed.
NCOSE was founded in 1962 in New York City as a multi-faith initiative by four leaders of different faith backgrounds. NCOSE now operates as a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, and research-based organization which leads a coalition of 600+ NGOs from diverse political, secular, and religious backgrounds. You can learn more about our approach here.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation is working to end sexual abuse and exploitation, including for those in the LGBTQ+ community. The mission of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation is focused 100% on preventing sexual abuse and exploitation of all persons irrespective of their race, ethnicity, class, gender, or sexual orientation.
Learn about the intersections of vulnerability in the LGBTQ+ community and find some helpful resources here: endsexualexploitation.org/articles/intersections-of-vulnerability-in-the-lgbt-community-resources
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is a nonpartisan, nonsectarian, and research-based organization. We employ and work with individuals who hold myriad political perspectives and we lead the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation—a collection of 600+ international NGOs who also represent a diverse range of ideological backgrounds and worldviews.
NCOSE is constantly assessing the value-adding functionalities of AI technology and the importance of digital transformation. We have embraced the use of AI to augment our efforts to bring about a world where people can live and love free from sexual exploitation and abuse. NCOSE will employ AI augmentation responsibly that accords with the principles of respect for privacy, transparency, justice and fairness, and non-maleficence.
Our Areas of Concentration
- Child Sexual Abuse
- Child Sexual Abuse Images
- Child-on-Child Harmful Sexual Behavior
- Male Demand for Sexual Exploitation
- Illicit Massage Businesses
- Image-based Sexual Abuse
- Men’s Violence against Women
- Obscenity Law
- Pornography Exposure Abuse
- Prevention
- Public Health Harms of Pornography
- Prostitution
- Sex Trafficking
- Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (including of men and boys)
- Sexual Addictions and Compulsivity
- Sexual Assault and Violence
- Sexual Coercion
- Sexual Objectification
- Sexualization of Children
- Sexually Oriented Businesses
- Stripping
- Technology-Facilitated Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
- Trauma
To learn more about NCOSE’s victories and progress in the last year, DOWNLOAD OUR 2022 GRATITUDE REPORT
