WASHINGTON, DC (May 28, 2026) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) said that the bipartisan Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Act, introduced by U.S. Reps. Ann Wagner (R-MO), Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA), will confront the demand for commercial sex, the primary driver of sex trafficking.
“Consumer-level demand creates the market forces that sustain pimps, traffickers, and the entire system of prostitution. Sex buyers oxygenate this ecosystem of exploitation by turning human beings into commodities for purchase. A range of multilateral legal obligations and political commitments geared towards discouraging the demand that fosters sex trafficking are in existence and mandate action from the United States. The Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Act is a vital step forward to hold sex buyers accountable, disrupt the profit propulsion of sex trafficking, and reject the normalization of commercial sexual exploitation,” said Dr. Marcel van der Watt, President & CEO, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“If the U.S. is serious about confronting sex trafficking in our country and ensuring other countries follow suit, we need to confront sex buyers,” he added.
The Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Act would strengthen the criteria that determine nations’ inclusion on the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), changing the current requirement of making serious and sustained efforts to “reduce” demand for commercial sex, commonly known as prostitution, to whether or not a foreign nation has made serious and sustained efforts to: 1) Prohibit the purchase of commercial sex acts or implement a policy against the purchase of commercial sex acts. 2) Educate buyers of commercial sex on how traffickers exploit prostituted persons for human trafficking. 3) Reduce demand for participation in international sex tourism by nationals of that country.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
To schedule an interview with NCOSE, please contact press@ncose.com.
