The Demand Deterrence Poster Campaign addresses one of the root causes of
prostitution worldwide: the demand for the bodies of women and youth.

The poster shown above will appear on the backs of a dozen Chicago
Transit Authority busses and at the entrance to the Clark and Division
El station throughout August and September 2008.

The campaign targets neighborhoods where complaints about
street-level prostitution are commonly reported or where research shows
there's a high demand for prostitution.

PART created the poster campaign based on findings from a recent survey
of 113 Chicago men who admitted to buying sex. The survey, released in
May by the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation,
found that 80 percent of the men agreed that prostitution has a
negative impact on communities and children. Another 83 percent
said jail time would discourage them from purchasing sex.

Meanwhile, only 32 percent of the men acknowledged that most women in
prostitution start before age 18. In fact, a recent DePaul University
survey of women in prostitution found that 73 percent entered the sex
trade before their 18th birthday.

PART volunteers interviewed people on the street at 6 different
locations about their reaction to the posters. The project plans to use
the information gathered in the interviews to launch a larger public
education campaign in the future. The original poster design was
created by leaders of PART who have survived life in the sex
trade. The project and associated website, www.stopsexualexploitation.com, are brought to you with the support of the Nathan Cummings Foundation.