Sex trafficking has proliferated into a multi-billion dollar criminal activity, one as profitable for criminal syndicates as the global narcotics trade. Once considered a Third-World problem, sex trafficking now profits from a major customer base in the United States. The State Department and non-governmental organizations estimate that 50,000 women and children from around the world are trafficked annually into the United States to satisfy the demand of hundreds of thousands of men who pay to consume them as sexual entertainment. Although these men have propelled sex trafficking into a multi-billion dollar enterprise, this “demand” side of trafficking still receives little public or media attention.

DePaul University’s International Human Rights Law Institute and Los Angeles anti-sex-trafficking organization Captive Daughters have assembled some of the nation’s leading authorities on human trafficking, prostitution, and human rights for “Demand Dynamics: The Forces of Demand in Global Sex Trafficking.” This two-day conference, held at Chicago’s prestigious Newberry Library on Oct. 16 and 17, will increase understanding of those who purchase women and children for sexual entertainment and develop strategies to counteract them.

“Demand Dynamics” will feature nearly 60 experts in fields relating to trafficking. Speakers will address such topics as: how consumers of sex trafficking find their “supply” and how demand is manipulated and maintained; what governmental policies or practices enable their actions; and what concrete measures can be taken to interfere with and ultimately eliminate demand.

The keynote speaker for the conference is Dorchen A. Leidholdt, co-executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women. She also is director of the Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services at Sanctuary for Families in New York City.

Among the experts who will address the conference are: Dr. Laura Lederer, senior advisor on trafficking, Office of Global Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Norma Hotaling, a former homeless prostitute and founder of The Sage Project, Inc., in San Francisco, who later established the First Offender Prostitution Program where “johns” learn firsthand the negative consequences of prostitution; Kristen Houser, director of programming, Nebraska Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Coalition; and Dr. Mary Anne Layden, specialist on the affects of pornography and director of education for the Center for Cognitive Therapy, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania.

“Sex trafficking is one of the most challenging and complex human rights crises of our time, yet it receives little public attention,” says DePaul University Professor Morrison Torrey, a nationally recognized authority on violence against women and member of the advisory board of the International Human Rights Law Institute. The Institute has recently published an extensive report on sex trafficking in the Americas.

Sandra Hunnicutt, founder of Captive Daughters, noted that “while there are many groups and governments diligently working on victim assistance, unless we focus more energy and resources on the market dynamics of demand, we will not be able to develop the strategies and commitment necessary to bring trafficking to an end. This conference is an important step forward in the effort to elevate public awareness of some of the best expert thinking on the subject currently available.”

As a testament to the emerging importance of this issue, President Bush recently warned the United Nations General Assembly of the growing dangers of the international sex trade. “The victims of the sex trade see little of life before they see the very worst of life,” he said. “Those who create these victims and profit from their suffering must be severely punished. Those who patronize this industry debase themselves and deepen the misery of others. And governments that tolerate this trade are tolerating a form of slavery.”

According to United Nations International Children’s Fund, in the Asia-Pacific region alone, more than 30 million children have been traded over the last three decades. In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act, which established sanctions for countries deemed to be making too little progress toward reducing human slavery. On Sept. 10, President Bush imposed the first sanctions under the act on Burma, Cuba and North Korea. That same year, Congress passed the Trafficking of Victims Act, establishing a priority for U.S. Attorneys to prosecute such crimes and to provide resources to help victims. To date, no more than 100 prosecutions have evoked this Act.

Note to editors: Since its inception in 1996, Captive Daughters has focused on raising awareness about sex trafficking. Captive Daughters asks individuals and governments to change the attitudes and behaviors that allow sex trafficking to exist. For more information call (310) 669-4400; e-mail captivedaughters@earthlink.net or visit http://www.captivedaughters.org.