National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)

Combating Sex Trafficking and Prostitution: Policy Reform 2.0

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is a non-partisan, non-sectarian organization dedicated to creating a world where all can live and love free from sexual abuse and exploitation. NCOSE works to expose the links between all forms of sexual abuse and exploitation, a holistic approach that deals with the complete problem—i.e., mass-scale prevention—rather than just the symptoms.

GrantTank support from The Jensen Project will help NCOSE continue the work they implemented in 2023 to build awareness about relevant federal legislation and state legislation while educating policymakers on research regarding sex trafficking and prostitution. Training and mobilization of survivors with lived experience undergird all activities.

NCOSE’s 2024 grant funding will tackle each of these problems by:

  • Rebuking state-level efforts to fully decriminalize the commercial sex trade as they successfully did in Rhode Island in 2023.
  • Countering Big Tech misinformation on Capitol Hill through education about online sexual exploitation..
  • Consulting, through the NCOSE Law Center, with members of Congress and the Department of Justice on age and content verification to protect victims of non-consensual sexually explicit material.
  • Using their recently (2023) completed federal research grant assessing sex trafficking demand reduction efforts in the U.S. to educate both federal agencies and state officials on the range of demand reduction strategies available to reduce sex trafficking.
  • Completing a research report on strip clubs as a gateway to sex trafficking and publicizing this research.

What We Loved about NCOSE

Besides its efforts to stop Full Decriminalization efforts and to implement the Equality Model, NCOSE also conducts research around commercial sexual exploitation, particularly in the digital space, ensuring that online content is consensual and “out of reach” of children. 

NCOSE has an impressive leadership team and a reputation and history of collaboration. Leading this work is NCOSE’s VP and Director of Public Policy, Eleanor Kennelly Gaetan who has storied success working both on Capitol Hill and for the state department for many years. NCOSE and its leadership know the work and the issues inside and out.

NCOSE works collaboratively with national partners, including those already partnering with The Jensen Project, highlighting The Jensen Project’s core value of “raising all boats,” striving for excellence while taking care of others, together. Because of this and many other reasons, choosing NCOSE as one of the policy category GrantTank recipients was an easy decision.

Funding from The Jensen Project will combat Full Decriminalization efforts while promoting efforts to move forward The Equality Model, provide education on online sexual exploitation, and conduct a research report on legal strip clubs in 2023 and publish the findings in 2024.

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What is GrantTank?

A yearly grant program, funding up to $2 Million to advance economic empowerment and housing opportunities for agencies who serve adult female survivors of human trafficking.