Events Detail

           Lagon, Hotaling, Shively, and Weitz

Fighting Demand for Sex Trafficking

Tuesday, FEBRUARY 5, 2008; 10:00–11:30AM

Mark Lagon, U.S. State Department

Michael Shively, Abt Associates

Norma Hotaling, SAGE

Richard Weitz, Hudson Institute

According to the U.S. intelligence community, of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked across international borders annually, 80 percent of victims are female, and as many as 50 percent are minors. Hundreds of thousands of these women and children are used in prostitution each year. U.S. policy since December 2002 draws a direct connection between prostitution and human trafficking. Any effort to successfully combat human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking, must confront the demand that perpetuates this abuse. Hudson Institute invites you to a discussion with a distinguished group of panelists, each offering unique perspectives on curbing the demand sustaining human trafficking.

Mark P. Lagon, Ambassador of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP), at the Department of State, coordinates U.S. Government activities in the global fight against modern-day slavery, including forced labor and sexual exploitation. Notably, his office counters the demand underlying the commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls.

Click here for Mr. Lagon's remarks.

Michael Shively, Ph.D., with Abt Associates, recently completed significant research for the National Institute for Justice to assess the effectiveness of a San Francisco program, the First Offenders Prostitution Program (FOPP), which educates first-time sex offenders to decrease the demand for prostitution and support long-term change. The research determined the program to be successful in reducing recidivism and extremely cost effective since fees paid by offenders fully support the program. The study also found that such schools are operating in over 35 U.S. sites, and an additional 50 communities have considered or are planning to implement such programs.

Norma Hotaling, founder of SAGE (Stand Against Global Exploitation) in San Francisco, is a national leader in redefining prostitution. Her organization collaborates with the local district attorney's office and police department in running FOPP. Since co-founding FOPP and founding SAGE, Ms. Hotaling has developed expertise in criminal justice treatment programs, restorative justice programs, and collaborative relationships between governmental and nonprofit agencies.

Richard Weitz, Director of Program Management and Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, will moderate the discussion. Dr. Weitz is a student of transnational security threats, especially terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The panelists will each speak 10-15 minutes, leaving considerable time for an exchange of views on this important topic.

For more information, please contract Richard Weitz at Weitz@hudson.org.