In 2006 Shared Hope International received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to perform field research on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST)—the sex trafficking of American children. The National Report is the culmination of ten field assessments conducted in targeted locations in the United States, providing a comprehensive understanding of child sex trafficking across America. 

The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking found misidentification of victims to be the primary barrier to properly addressing America’s trafficked children. Consequently, this misidentification often leads to the criminalization of victims, barring them from receiving proper treatment and care. In fact, in nearly every location American child victims of sex trafficking are being arrested for the crime committed against them while their abusers walk free. 

Shared Hope International (SHI) investigated the commercial sex markets in Jamaica, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States – Atlanta, Las Vegas and Washington, DC under a grant from the U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The DEMAND. report and documentary reveal for the first time, the sophisticated business model behind sex trafficking and tourism, exposing the buyers who bring demand, the traffickers and recruiters who supply the victims, and the facilitators that feed the market.