CASE Campaign Against Sexual Exploitation

Scholars suggest there are between 100,000 and 300,000 children who are commercially exploited in the United States each year. Nationally, as many as 2.4 million children run away from home each year, with 1 out of every 3 homeless teens being lured toward prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home. Statistically, this means at least 800,000 runaway children will be lured into commercial sexual exploitation each year. The average age at which a child first becomes commercially victimized is a shocking twelve years old.

Child sex trafficking cases can pose daunting challenges for investigators and prosecutors and victims can be difficult to identify. Only by dedicating resources to these cases, and through collaboration with other agencies, can we begin to bring justice to these child victims and bring an end to the trafficking of our children.

To increase awareness of these issues, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children launched the Campaign Against Sexual Exploitation (CASE). Through CASE, stakeholders are provided with the tools and resources to better educate local communities about the many issues surrounding child sexual exploitation and how and where to report these crimes.

To provide additional resources to our affiliates and improve the protection of children, the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) and NCMEC have joined forces to bring this campaign to your district. Resources include a comprehensive toolkit that addresses the issues of child molestation, child prostitution, online enticement, and child pornography. Each district is encouraged to use these resources to engage the local community by establishing a taskforce to address the issues and problems in their specific areas.

Jurisdictions requesting the CASE toolkit will receive eleven customizable posters, current statistics, background information, a sample press release, a sample letter to the editor, suggested activities, and suggested topics of discussion. Additionally, NDAA will identify additional resources for jurisdictions that are at higher risk for child sexual exploitation.

To request a CASE toolkit or for more information on establishing a taskforce in your jurisdiction, please contact us.

If you are interested in requesting and customizing CASE posters or have additional questions about this campaign, please contact Ana Cody at acody@ncmec.org.

Posters are 12″ x 18.5″
Click Engish or Spanish to download pdf for printing.

Child Sexual Exploitation Case Law Updates