CAASE

Kristof Takes on Pimps, Backpage.com

2012-01-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times posted a column today about pimps who are using websites like Backpage.com to facilitate the trafficking of girls as young as 13. We’re heartened that the issue of domestic sex trafficking is receiving more attention and that pimps are being seen for what they really are--traffickers. Kristof calls for the shut down of websites that are making it easy on pimps:

“It’s true that there’s some risk that pimps will migrate to new Web sites, possibly based overseas, that are less cooperative. But, on balance, that’s a risk worth taking. The present system is failing. Pimps aren’t the shrewdest marketers, and eliminating a hub for trafficking should at least chip away at the problem.“

Kristof points out that ordering a girl for sex off the internet is as easy as ordering a pizza. That's not the first time we've heard that comparison, and he's sadly very right: When Rachel Durchslag, CAASE's executive director, interviewed 113 johns in Chicago, on purchaser said: "I usually call for a girl, you know, like a pizza.” There are so many disturbing things happening there--a girl being a commodity, available to order--it's important to know that johns are a driving force as much as pimps are.

Kristof identifies the issue of encouraging law enforcement to go after pimps in the first place, and we are fortunate locally that Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and Sheriff Tom Dart are embracing the End Demand approach. We’ve seen signs of progress in Illinois, with local stings that led to the arrests of more than 10 traffickers and 27 johns.

There is much more to be done, however, and you can help address this problem in Illinois. Through our End Demand Illinois campaign, prevention curriculum for young men and direct legal services for survivors of the sex trade, CAASE is working to hold perpetrators accountable and advocating for supportive services for survivors of the sex trade. You can:

1. Sign up for the End Demand Illinois Action Alerts to keep up with the latest news and advocacy efforts. If you're already signed up, share Kristof's article with a friend and ask them to sign up!

2. Bring CAASE’s curriculum for young men to a high school near you. Our instructor talks to the students about the realities of the commercial sex trade and human trafficking. Young men are asked to consider how pressures to “be a man” can influence their decisions to patronize the sex trade.

3. Make a donation to support CAASE’s work, which includes legal services for survivors of the sex trade.

For more information visit www.caase.org and www.enddemandillinois.org

National Human Trafficking Prevention Month

2012-01-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. This is an opportunity to educate more people about the realities of human trafficking, how damaging it is, and what we can all do to help prevent it. Prevention is a fundamental part of what we do at CAASE, and we work to prevent human trafficking by educating young men about the negative effects it has on those who are trafficked and society as a whole.

While women in prostitution are stigmatized, the men responsible for perpetuating the sex trade – the men who sell sex (pimps) and the men who buy sex (johns) – not only evade the stigma attached to the women they exploit, but our society glamorizes these men. More and more young men are saturated with this distortion to the point where many have come to accept it as reality. A CAASE study of 113 men who bought sex found that the average age at which the men first bought sex was a mere 21. Even more revealing, 11% of respondents admitted that the first time they bought sex was between the ages of 10 and 15-years-old. We realized that if boys as young as 4^th graders were purchasing sex, there is a clear absence of education among young men regarding prostitution and sexual exploitation.

Young men are key to ending sex trafficking and the modern day slavery it imposes on millions of women worldwide. CAASE has created and implemented the first curriculum in the country that is specifically designed to educate young men about the harms of the sex trade. Our goal is to educate these young men about the damages of the sex trade and in doing so, create a generation of men dedicated to ending this daily exploitation.

CAASE’s curriculum, “Empowering Young Men to End Sexual Exploitation” has reached more than 1,000 students since its inception in March of 2010. Our instructor visits classrooms in Chicagoland to bring this multiple-session course directly to students. The interactive classes invite young men to examine the constructs of masculinity that have been presented to them by our culture, juxtaposed with the harsh realities of the sex trade. This topic is rarely, if ever, brought up with high school students otherwise, and initial surveys of students show that our work is making a real impact. By challenging the distortions promoted by popular culture, we enable students to resist the sex trade and join the fight to end it.

You can take action today. Do you have connections to a high school that might be interested in the curriculum? Visit http://caase.org/prevention today to learn how to bring the curriculum to your school.

Bolingbrook Man Charged with Sex Trafficking

2012-01-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, an ex-convict, McKenzie "Casino" Carson, was arrested on federal charges that he forced a 17-year old girl into the sex trade and prostituted her since January 2010. Carson allegedly had a group of women that he trafficked, advertised them on the internet, and kept nearly all of the portions the women were paid. According to the Chicago Tribune, "The 17-year-old girl who authorities say Carson forced into prostitution was introduced to him a year ago after confiding to an acquaintance that she was having financial problems, according to the complaint." After they met, Carson allegedly raped her, and when she told him her age, he simply replied "that don't matter." He allegedly then began to use categorical violence to keep her and the other women he trafficked in the sex trade.

It is good to hear that this pimp has been arrested and will be prosecuted for his terrible crimes. But shouldn't we also be arresting and prosecuting the johns, the men who bought sex from this 17-year-old girl? Prostitution would not be profitable without the demand from these purchasers. Johns are instrumental in fueling pimps to continue exploiting women, and yet johns are rarely prosecuted or convicted. Unless we address and eliminate the demand, we will never be able to successfully eliminate sex trafficking. To learn more about what demand is and how you can help stop the exploitation of women, visit End Demand Illinois.

This arrest should also help to shatter the myth that prostitution and sex trafficking are not happening in your own neighborhood. Think prostitution and sex trafficking couldn't happen in your area? Think again. Bolingbrook is a fairly affluent community, listed at #43 in Money Magazine's "America's Top 100 Places to Live." If sex trafficking is happening here, it is happening in your community, too.

Don't be discouraged. Instead, be motivated! To find out more about how you can help stop sex trafficking and bring an end to sexual exploitation visit CAASE or End Demand Illinois today

Backpage.com Connected to Murders in Detroit

2012-01-03T07:29:00.000-08:00

Last week, the Detroit Free Press and CNN revealed the staggering earnings of websites like Backpage.com that are fueling prostitution and sex trafficking. In the story, it’s estimated that Backpage.com sold about $24 million in escort ads in the past year. These ads were linked by police to the recent murders of prostituted women in Detroit.

Four women's bodies were found in the trunks of cars after they had apparently been solicited via the internet and murdered. These women had been advertised on Backpage.com and other websites as "escorts." Backpage is, by its own admission, a “middle man” helping to facilitate the sale of sex through its ads. There's more in a video from CNN at the end of this post.

You might ask: What’s the difference between escort services and street level prostitution? Isn’t being an escort something glamorous, more akin to Pretty Woman than to life on the street? The gruesome details of this story and so many others involving prostituted women reveal just how much violence and risk prostituted people endure, whether they are sold on the street or on the internet.

Local research here in Chicago by Jody Raphael found that the safety of women in prostitution is threatened at similar levels in both indoor and outdoor venues. No matter whether the women were escorts, worked in strip clubs or hotels or on the street, they experienced violence at the hands of customers and their pimps. Most prostituted people are forced to turn over some or all of their money to a pimp, and it’s often that pimp who places the ads with Backpage.com and other websites. When someone else is profiting from the sale of another’s body for sex, it is trafficking.

People who buy sex—those who surf through these ads and decide where to buy and with whom—are the ones driving the trade. If we want to end the violence of the sex trade, we have to start by stopping people who create demand. We applaud efforts to shut down Backpage.com’s escort ads and support local law enforcement initiatives that hold pimps, johns and traffickers accountable for the harm they cause.
To learn more about our End Demand Illinois campaign, visit www.enddemandillinois.org

Want to help? Post or share this blog and invite others to learn about the issues by signing up for our occasional newsletter.

Responding to "The Misunderstood Sex Offender"

2011-12-22T14:29:00.000-08:00

If you pick up a copy of today’s Chicago Reader and flip to page 6, you’ll see a letter from our executive director, Rachel Durchslag, in response to the story “The misunderstood sex offender.” While we thought the story tackled some important issues, it missed the mark by failing to inform readers about the larger scope of the problem: most rapists are never arrested, charged or convicted. Did you catch the article in the Reader? What did you think?

CAASE's attorneys work with survivors of sexual assault every day. Many of these survivors were raped by acquaintances, and few of them ever see their attacker held accountable until they reach out to us. Learn more about our legal services here.

Here’s our response to the Reader article:

Dear Editor,

Readers of “The misunderstood sex offender” (Dec. 8, 2011, by Sam Worley) might conclude that Illinois is over-punishing sex offenders when, in reality, the overwhelming majority of perpetrators of sexual assault are never held accountable for their crimes. Within the realm of sexual violence, the men featured in Worley’s article represent a tiny minority of sex offenders; the men he featured were actually convicted. It’s estimated that fewer than 11 percent of rapists in Illinois are ever arrested, let alone charged or convicted of their crimes. Current law enforcement practices and the laws pertaining to sex offenders are clearly ineffective, and we must begin by demanding that perpetrators be arrested and charged. Reforming our response to sexual assault should never center on the needs of the offender, as Worley suggests, but instead on creating justice for crime victims.

Rachel Durchslag

Executive Director
Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation

A Rape Survivor Tells Her Story and Thanks CAASE's Attorneys

2011-12-21T11:37:00.000-08:00

As CAASE wraps up 2011, we are reflecting on all that we've accomplished this year. Recently, we heard from a client about just how much CAASE's legal services really meant to her:

After Jessica’s ex-boyfriend sexually assaulted her, all she wanted was for him to stay away. Night after night, she couldn’t sleep, worrying about her own safety. “I wanted to create a barrier between him and myself. I wanted to be empowered.”

Through the Sexual Assault Justice Project, CAASE’s attorneys work with local rape crisis centers to ensure that survivors have access to free legal counsel through our office. At the YWCA, Jessica worked with an advocate who helped her navigate the criminal justice system. In the end, Jessica decided against filing a police report. “I was not, at the time, emotionally able to press charges,” she said. Her advocate recommended that Jessica contact CAASE.

After talking to CAASE’s Legal Director Kaethe Morris Hoffer, Jessica felt a huge sense of relief. “She was so professional, confidential and supportive,” Jessica said. “It was the first thing that made me feel like I had options.”

Kaethe wrote a letter to Jessica’s attacker, and he ended up calling the CAASE office. “Apparently he was apologetic and ashamed,” Jessica said. “He very much heard the tone of the letter and was afraid of the consequences, and I have not heard from him since.”

As a teacher who’s paying her way through grad school, Jessica wasn’t prepared for the additional costs that came after she was assaulted. Therapy and medication weren’t things she had budgeted for, so she was grateful that CAASE’s legal services were completely free, regardless of her income. “I was eating ramen noodles,” she said. “It would not have been feasible for me to pay for a lawyer.”

After raving about Kaethe’s professionalism, Jessica adds, “I would not have gotten through without this. Once the letter was sent, well, I’ve been slept through the night ever since.”

Learn more about our legal services here, or make an onlinedonation to support CAASE’s work here.

Chicago Pimp Convicted of Trafficking Girls as Young as 12

2011-11-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

Today, a 32-year-old man was convicted of sex trafficking women and girls in Chicago. Some of the girls he sold were as young as 12.

This is a horrible story. But it’s really, really good news that this “pimp” has been convicted of sex trafficking here in Chicago. It's good news because trafficking happens all the time here, and this is a sign that law enforcement wants to address the problem.

It’s also good news that the public will see violence in the sex trade for what it is—the exploitation of women and girls for profit, here in Chicago.

Kudos to the prosecutors for holding the violent criminal responsible, and thanks to Natasha Korecki for her reporting on this case for the Chicago Sun-Times. From her recent story about the trial, Korecki describes how the case reveals “A bizarre world that … began with a promise of love and a future but devolved quickly to forced sex, verbal berating and physical beatings.”

It also reveals how trafficking—the use of force to keep someone in the sex trade—happens here in our city. Our End Demand Illinois campaign advocates for resources for survivors like these, and harsher penalties for pimps, johns and traffickers.

Until last year, the victims in this case could have been treated as criminals. Thanks to the Illinois Safe Children Act, minors in our state can no longer be prosecuted for prostitution. And this is as it should be, as we hear about the trauma these girls have survived.

The testimony of a young woman in the case says it all. The defense asked why she stayed with the pimp who was abusing her:

“He had all my information. He had my birth certificate … He knew everything about me.” The 19-year-old yelled in court. “I was only a child. I was only a child! Where else was I supposed to go?”

To learn more about how you can help end sex trafficking here at home, visit www.enddemandillinois.org

In the News: Sex Trafficking of Girls in Illinois, Wisconsin, Tennessee

2011-10-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Two stories in the news this week shed light on the disturbing realities of sex trafficking in our city, and we wanted to share.A man in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has been charged with sex trafficking of children. According to a news article:

Sean Patrick recruited, sheltered, and turned prostitutes by force. He sent them to Chicago using bus transportation or drove them himself in a 1992 gold Chevrolet conversion van. The van reportedly was inscribed with the words “ho hauler” on the quarter front panel. These girls were property to him. Allegedly, if one of the young women missed the bus, he would choke them, stomp on them, and make them stand naked next to his “ho hauler.” Patrick paid the court $10,000 from the trafficking operation and gave up his van. He plead guilty to all charges and could face life in prison.

Another story broke about a couple from Tennessee has been charged with the sex trafficking of an underage girl they met on Facebook. Jessica Lidy and Jarrod Sanford were arrested after a 15-year-old girl told gas station employees in Lincoln that she was being held against her will in their truck. Lidy and Sanford had transported the teenage girl into Illinois to be prostituted. The couple claims that they brought her with them on trips to Illinois where Lidy engaged in the acts of prostitution alone. The U.S. Department of Justice has charged the couple with transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution.

Though media attention and circumstances differ, these stories share several elements. People are taking advantage of underage girls’ vulnerability. The most disturbing aspect of both stories is that men in our state are ready and willing to pay for girls. The reason Sean Patrick, Jessica Lidy, and Jarrod Sanford transported the girls they held captive to Illinois is because of the consistent demand for prostitution. As long as there are men willing to pay money in our city, these crimes will never end.

We applaud these efforts by law enforcement to go after pimps and traffickers. While these pimps are undoubtedly guilty of exploiting young women, the men who bought sex from these girls are fueling the never-ending cycle. No surprisingly, these news reports do not address the johns (men who buy sex). The first step in terminating this vicious cycle and ending demand in our city is simply awareness.

To continue your awareness of sex trafficking in Chicago, sign up for our action alerts here.

-This post was written by Allyson Matvey, a CAASE intern.

Photo by sciondriver.

Massage Parlors and Sex Trafficking: Hiding in Plain Sight

2011-09-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

An update from the Chicago Sun-Times just came to our attention: “The lawyer who caused a mistrial after a masseuse testifying for the prosecution recognized him as a client – is officially off the case.”

You may remember that a witness in the sex trafficking case recognized the defense attorney as being one of her clients at the massage parlor. Although the attorney admitted to receiving massages from the witness and making an error by not disclosing this sooner, he said that there was never a sex act or inappropriate behavior during his visits.

Let’s take him at his word. No matter what happened, trafficking can indeed hide in plain sight. Businesses like massage parlors can easily become fronts for exploitation, which means they have a special role in preventing that sort of harm from occurring. And the men who were patrons at that massage parlor may not have realized that they were potentially supporting sex trafficking. The elements of force, fraud or coercion that define trafficking are not always apparent. But certainly, there are men in Chicagoland who do buy sex at massage parlors.

So what can we do to stop sex trafficking? CAASE believes that the answer involves addressing the customers who create demand for the commercial sex trade. According to the Polaris Project:

"Johns" who frequent brothels disguised as massage parlor make it a "hobby" to buy sex and to track all massage parlors nationwide. There are more than 5,000 brothels disguised as massage parlors nationwide.
Standard pricing structure: Johns pay a house fee of $60 - $90 per half hour or hour plus they occasionally pay tips; the women are pressured to "please the customer" in order to receive tips. These unpredictable tips are the women's sole source of income to pay the numerous fees and interest rates they are charged by the network.
Standard day for a woman in a brothel disguised as a massage parlor: 10am – 2 or 3am, 7 days a week
Estimated average number of men a woman must have sex with daily: 6 -10

Certainly, there are many legitimate massage businesses in Chicago. You can double check by asking if they are licensed and watching for signs of trafficking.

If you suspect that prostitution is happening at a nail spa, massage parlor, strip club or other business, you can report the exploitation by calling the National Human Trafficking hotline:1-888-3737-888. CAASE encourages responses that address customers, pimps and traffickers.

We are interested to see what happens with this sex trafficking case as it unfolds, and we hope that discussion about this issue will ALWAYS include the johns who drive demand for trafficked people.

Want to stay informed about the End Demand Illinois campaign? Sign up for our action alerts here.

Photo from 05com.

Woman escapes trafficking in the Congo, Belgium, finds asylum in Chicago

2011-09-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Last month, a judge in Chicago granted asylum to a Congolese woman who was a survivor of sex trafficking. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the young woman’s parents died when she was 18. With no other options, she was forced into prostitution by a friend of the family in exchange for shelter. Later, a man took her as his sex slave and trafficked her to Belgium. After enduring rape, being tattooed with his name and brainwashed, she eventually escaped to the United States.

Her story is more important than ever as we gather on Monday, Sept. 19 here in Chicago for the Town Hall Meeting to raise awareness about human trafficking. Ultimately, the goal of the meeting is to raise support for the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victim Protection Act (TVPA). The protections from the TVPA are cited as part of the decision:

In the instant case, the Court finds that the respondent has established through her credible testimony that she is a victim of a "severe form" of sex trafficking under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which defines sex trafficking as "the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act" and lists "sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion" as a severe form of sex trafficking.

Another important facet of the judge’s decision is the recognition that because the young woman had been prostituted in the Congo, the woman faced potential persecution and trafficking if she were to return to her country. We applaud this acknowledgment that her gender, history with prostitution and trafficking would indeed put her further at risk.

It’s worth reading the whole decision if you have time. Many kudos to the judge, Virginia Perez-Guzman, the National Immigrant Justice Center and pro bono attorneys from the Chicago office of McDermott Will & Emery LLP who all worked on this case. We found out about this through Bender’s Immigration Bulletin.

Please join us for this event to help others who rely on the protections of this law to seek justice. To learn more about Monday’s Town Hall event, click here.

Photo by Wink.

Sex Trafficking and Prostitution Busts This Weekend in Chicago

2011-09-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

Two news stories broke over the weekend about charges related to sex trafficking and prostitution here in Chicagoland.

A 27-year-old Chicago woman was charged with involuntary sexual servitude of a minor and human trafficking for forced labor. She had allegedly forced a 16-year-old girl to have sex with strangers for money. The Chicago Police Department saw ads for the girl posted on the internet and discovered her during a sting. The girl was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated. (Story in the Chicago Tribune here).

A sting in Lansing, Illinois led to the arrest of four women, including one who was allegedly keeping a house of prostitution. The spa where they worked was found to be a front for a house of prostitution. The women in this case were offered services from the Cook County Sheriff’s Women’s Justice Programs. (Story in the Northwest Times here).

We applaud local law enforcement for their leadership in holding pimps and traffickers accountable, while also offering supportive services to survivors of the trade. While we don’t know the exact details of these cases, women in the sex trade sometimes turn to pimping and trafficking as a means of survival. This is the sad reality in a cycle of exploitation. By proposing an infrastructure of services and viable alternatives for women engaged in the sex trade, our End Demand Illinois campaign is working to address these issues.

You can stand up by asking your community to address demand in these situations. Who were the men buying sex in that spa? Who was purchasing a 16 –year-old girl for sex? These are the unmentioned aspects of these stories that must be talked about.

Learn how to take action by signing up for our End Demand action alerts here.

While the campaign is Illinois-specific, it has national influence and resources that can be used anywhere.
To see the new End Demand Illinois campaign website, visit www.enddemandillinois.org

(Photo Creative Commons by roger g1)

The Whistleblower Reveals Root Cause of Trafficking

2011-09-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

Rachel Durchslag, executive director and founder of the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, reacts to a new film on human trafficking.

I recently saw The Whistleblower, which portrays the horrors of human trafficking and highlights the root cause of the trafficking industry: the johns and traffickers who profit from the existence of the sex trade. The film is based on the real-life story of Kathryn Bolkovac, a former law enforcement official who was hired by a private contract firm to help with a peace-keeping mission in Bosnia. As the film unfolds, Bolkovac is confronted with the wide-scale human trafficking of vulnerable women and girls into the country.

When Bolkovac begins to investigate the trafficking crimes, she quickly discovers the involvement of both corrupt local law enforcement officials as well as UN peace keepers- individuals whose job it is to help rebuild Bosnia from the tragedies of wars but who instead ruin the lives of trafficked women for their own sexual gain. Some of the most emotionally challenging moments of the film are the images of the peace keepers degrading and abusing trafficked women. Some perpetrators even post pictures of their violent acts on the internet to both publicize their exploits and also to normalize their harm.

It is important when viewing a movie such as The Whistleblower to remember that these crimes are not solely committed against international victims. Domestic victims of prostitution are often inflicted with the same type of violence and sexual trauma. And as CAASE’s research with men who purchase sex shows, johns do not care to know if a woman is being trafficked- all they care about is finding a body to rent for the evening.
This film reminds us how important it is to address the root cause of an issue to bring about impactful change. If peace-keepers had not trafficked and purchased women, then human trafficking would not have existed in Bosnia (where it barely did exist before the end of the war). If we can stop johns, pimps and traffickers from perpetuating the sex trade in the United States, exploitation in the sex trade would simply cease to exist. This movie is an excellent call to action for all of us to continue working to end the demand for victims in order to end sexual exploitation.

Learn more about actions you can take on our toolkit page at www.caase.org

Breaking: Gang Members to be Charged with Trafficking Young Women

2011-08-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

This morning it was announced that a group of gang members in Chicago would be charged with the sex trafficking of young girls. The collaborative effort by law enforcement utilized the Illinois Safe Children Act, a new law our End Demand Illinois campaign created last year in partnership with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

We are thrilled that the law is being used to take down traffickers. The Illinois Safe Children Act gives law enforcement new tools like wiretapping to build a case against perpetrators. Kudos to the Cook County Sheriff's office and the Chicago Police Department for their work on this case.

The Illinois Safe Children Act also gives all minors in our state immunity from prosecution for prostitution. We applaud this latest effort and urge the community to show their support for efforts like these that go after traffickers, pimps and johns.

A disturbing but important aspect to this story is the fact that men in Chicago are purchasing sex from young girls. The majority of men who buy sex face few consequences for their crimes, and yet they are fueling the sex trade. Efforts like today’s to dismantle organized crime address one important facet of the problem. Another is to hold johns accountable for the harm they cause when they purchase women. To learn more about men who buy sex in Illinois, read our fact sheet.

To learn more about ending demand, visit www.enddemandillinois.org

Police help 15-year-old girl who was trafficked in Chicago

2011-08-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Recently in Chicago, local law enforcement discovered a 15-year-old girl who had been lured into prostitution by two adults. The story is terrifying but had a just outcome: After the couple recruited the girl on the street, initiated her and tried to pimp her out, a police officer recognized that the girl was a minor. She was treated as a crime victim worthy of services and even helped identify her traffickers. It was discovered that the offender was already out on bond for involuntary servitude of a minor.

The Illinois Safe Children Act, passed last year, ensures that all minors are immune from prosecution for prostitution in our state. We send kudos to law enforcement for looking beneath the surface to recognize that this young woman needed help and that there were others behind the scenes seeking to profit. The Chicago Police Department’s Human Trafficking Task Force along with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Salvation Army’s STOP-IT program and DCFS all helped with this sting—many thanks to them for their collaborative response to human trafficking in our community.

The End Demand Illinois campaign seeks to hold pimps, traffickers and johns accountable for the harm they cause. The people who profit from the commercial sex trade are creating a demand for young women like the one in this story. Stand up against demand for the sex trade—visit www.enddemandillinois.org and sign up for our action alerts.

Ask the Senate to Support This Resolution

2011-08-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

Our allies at the Frederick Douglass Family Foundation are leading an initiative to ask the U.S. Senate to recognize December 2 as the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. The resolution recognizes that the fight to end slavery continues today as we work to end human trafficking.

The resolution is in support of the United Nations General Assembly of the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. It commends the efforts of modern-day abolitionists, including students, following in the tradition of Frederick Douglass.

How you can help: The Frederick Douglass Family Foundation has met with Senator Mark Kirk's office and now needs support from Illinois residents to encourage Kirk to move forward. You can help by reaching out to Senator Kirk using this letter, emailing him here or calling 312-886-3506.

Buying sex makes you a john, not a sugar daddy

2011-08-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

We heard about national media coverage (on the Huffington Post and the Today Show) of websites that cater to older men who want to make “arrangements” to pay for sex with younger women. The stories have focused on college students who are turning to prostitution to pay down their loan debt.

What are the real implications of men using their money and power to exploit women? Although they use the euphemism “sugar daddy," let’s be clear. These men are johns. These sugar daddy websites are fueled by men who buy subscriptions and create a system that facilitates the selling of young women’s bodies.

CAASE’s study of 113 johns in Chicago showed that men purchase sex because they face very few barriers or consequences. It’s disturbing to think that some of these “sugar babies” are on the site out of desperation and, instead of proposing that we reach out to help them, the media is treating this as simply another side effect of the bad economy.

It’s unacceptable for our society to ever, ever be ok with a woman being pressured into prostitution. That seems to be the crux of the story—women with tremendous debt who feel they will be of more value to society if they could pay off their loans. As one woman interviewed in the HuffPost article said:

"I just wanted to get it over and done with as quickly as possible," recalls Taylor, forcing out a nervous smile. "I just wanted to get out of that situation as safely as possible, pay off my debt, and move on."

Let’s be clear, prostitution is dangerous. One study showed that the rates of violence were similar for women who were prostituted on the street as those in indoor venues. The average life expectancy for a woman who enters prostitution is seven years from the date she enters the trade.

It’s time to stand up against men who are fueling a system that exploits young women. End the demand for prostitution by asking law enforcement to hold “sugar daddies” accountable and call them what they are: men who are buying other human beings.

Learn more at www.enddemandillinois.org

Sun-Times Tells the Story of Cynthia Barnes

2011-08-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

Cynthia Barnes, a prostituted woman who died violently at the hands of a john, is the subject of a series of columns from Mark Brown at the Chicago Sun-Times. All too often, the stories of prostituted people are ignored in the media. We are heartened that Brown is delving into the complexities of this subject.

Barnes's death is deeply disturbing. According to her boyfriend, Barnes wanted to exit the sex trade but faced few options. She was homeless, didn’t have anywhere else to go, and grappled with addiction. On a rainy night, she went on a “date” with a john to get out of the rain. The john apparently pushed her from a third-story window, and she fell to her death.

Prostitution is not a victimless crime. Women and children in Chicago suffer tremendous violence at the hands of pimps, johns and traffickers. Many women in the trade say that they would like to leave, but they fear violence from a pimp or simply don’t know where to turn. Read our "Myths about women in prostitution" fact sheet to learn more.

Our End Demand Illinois campaign seeks to refocus law enforcement’s attention toward those who profit from the sex trade (johns, pimps and traffickers). We envision a community that offers a network of support for people who want to leave the sex trade. To learn more about the campaign, visit www.enddemandillinois.org

Looking beneath the surface only takes a minute.

2011-07-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

We’ve all seen the mug shots lining the margins of online news sites. Women are charged with prostitution. Sometimes they are in the city, but more often than not, they’re in the suburbs. Not on the street, but busted in a sting in a massage parlor or spa. And our gut reaction at CAASE is to wonder “Did anyone look beneath the surface? Did anyone ask that woman if she was there by choice?”

When you see these stories, do a short screening for yourself. Does the reporter ask the police about the potential of trafficking in the case? Were the sting efforts targeting purchasers (johns) and traffickers (pimps) or only the prostituted women? Is there a plan for holding the business accountable, or figuring out who was really profiting? Or might the arrested women soon be replaced with others? Why are there only photos of prostituted women, but no photos of the johns? Were there efforts to arrest johns?

If not, they’re ignoring demand—the people who perpetrate harm and profit from the sex trade.

If you don’t see reporters and law enforcement looking beneath the surface to address demand, it’s up to you to call them out. Leave a comment. Write a letter. Ask your local law enforcement and elected officials to address demand for the sex trade. Join our campaign and tell Illinois that we must end demand. Visit www.enddemandillinois.org

Sample letters and other information can also be found in our media response guide.

Photo by Elea Chang

Odd Future: Reflections from inside the tent.

2011-07-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

I was at Pitchfork Music Fest this weekend representing CAASE at a table along with about a dozen other local organizations that are working to end violence against women and LGBTQ people. The effort was led by Between Friends and Rape Victim Advocates, two important orgs that stepped up to offer an anti-violence voice to the discussion about Odd Future playing at the fest. (Not familiar with the controversy? Get caught up here). I wanted to share a few thoughts from inside the tent (which was never a protest).

People at Pitchfork loved the purple heat-fighting fans. Mostly, they loved them because it was mind-melting hot outside, but many people who paused to read the message “Cool it, don’t be a fan of violence” paused to smile, or at least acknowledge that they knew why our groups were there. One young woman grabbed a fan then took the time to return and tell me, “I’m really glad you’re here doing this. Thank you.”

Who knows what triggered her to return and say thanks? Maybe she’s survived violence. Maybe someone in her family has. Or maybe she just believes that there is a real connection between the art we consume and the values we embrace. Who was it who said life imitates art? Even if that’s true just sometimes, we should all be more aware of the messages we’re consuming and tacitly supporting.

While I was at the gate passing out fans to the sweaty people entering the gates, Odd Future stopped over at our booth. They brought cupcakes. As they stood there, they probably also saw the T-shirts that Between Friends’ teen volunteers made with slogans like “I’m not a Ho” and “Love doesn’t hurt.” Why does it matter that they stopped by? Well, they were among thousands who stopped to view these messages, pick up info about crisis resources and acknowledge that there’s violence against women in our community. I think it means that they did care that we were there. We all have to start somewhere, right?

-Kristin Claes is communications manager for CAASE.

Photo from Ashley Koenen at LA Weekly

Our johns study is mentioned on CNN

2011-07-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

CAASE is mentioned in a story today on CNN about a girl who survived prostitution after being recruited into the trade at age 11. The research cited in the story is "Deconstructing the Demand for Prostitution", a project generously funded by the Chicago Foundation for Women and the Michael Reese Health Trust.

The CNN story is heartbreaking yet inspiring. We can all do more to raise awareness about the commercial sexual exploitation of children. We also urge you to check out our tool kits here, which offer action steps you can take to end sexual exploitation. Want to get involved with CAASE and our End Demand Illinois campaign? Sign up for our action alerts here.

What did you think about this story?

Pimp Faces 18 Years for Trafficking

2011-07-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

Today, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez claimed a huge victory as a pimp, Troy Bonaparte, received an 18-year sentence for human trafficking. From the news story on WGN:

Troy Bonaparte, 46, had been convicted in March of involuntary servitude and trafficking in persons for forced labor and pandering. He was the first person convicted in Cook County under updated laws against human trafficking.

Bonaparte, who has 55 other arrests on his record, had been arrested on the trafficking charges on Aug. 8, 2010 in an Elk Grove Village motel room after an undercover investigation.

Bonaparte had the women he forced into prostitution call him "Magnificent," prosecutors said. He would rent motel rooms in the city and suburbs and force women to prostitute themselves to between 5 and 25 men a day.

Bonaparte would keep all of the money earned in the prostitution and threaten to beat or kill the women if they tried to disobey him, prosecutors said.

We’re thrilled that law enforcement is holding pimps accountable and taking the time to build cases against these traffickers. This is a recognition that pimping often equals trafficking. When women (and men) are forced to sell their bodies, the person who’s controlling them must face consequences. To learn more about our campaign to end the types of exploitation caused by pimps like Bonaparte, visit www.enddemandillinois.org

Help CAASE Celebrate our 5th Birthday!

2011-06-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

This summer, the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation is celebrating our 5th birthday. You’ve helped us achieve many successes in our first few years, including empowering young men to end exploitation, offering legal counsel to survivors of sexual assault and advocating for just laws to help victims of sex trafficking. Now you can help CAASE thrive even more in the next 5!

5 ways to support CAASE now:

1.   Give: Whether you can donate $5, $50 or $500, your gift in honor of CAASE’s birthday will make a big difference. Giving $5 a week to CAASE? Piece of cake! Donate here>>

2.   Learn: Bring a friend to one of this week’s events with Rachel Lloyd from GEMS. Rachel will inspire and inform as she describes her compelling new book, Girls Like Us. Use this as an opportunity to introduce friends to the movement to end sex trafficking. Both events (June 8-9) are free. More details here>>

3.   Party: Speaking of cake, join us for a CAASE birthday party fundraiser Wednesday, July 6 with drinks and sweets. Learn more>>

4.   Friend-raise: Ask your friends to “like” CAASE on Facebook. How, you ask? A nifty call to action could be: “One of my favorite organizations, the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, is celebrating their 5th birthday. Click CAASE’s “like” button to learn more about their local work fighting sexual exploitation: www.facebook.com/thecaase” See, simple! Go to Facebook>>

5.   Work Out: Sign up for personal training sessions through Organa Wellness during June, July or August they will donate 15% of proceeds to CAASE. Mention CAASE when you call and receive one free session with the purchase of a 12-week package. Learn more at www.organawellness.com

Bonus idea: Do you love fundraising? We’re always looking for people like you. Check out our list of fundraising ideas here. Have an idea and want to get involved? Email info@caase.org

THANK YOU for all you do to support CAASE :)

Dear New York Times: Stop Blaming Women in Prostitution for Violence

2011-06-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

Violence against women in prostitution is a daily reality, not a rare threat. The New York Times portrayed the serial killing of prostituted women as exceptional cases of violence (Discovery of Bodies on Long Island Is Stoking Fear, May 30, 2011). Unfortunately, many women in prostitution have experienced violence at the hands of pimps, johns, traffickers and even the police. These murders are horrifying, but equally disturbing are the reporter’s assumptions about the lives of prostituted women.

In the opening paragraphs, the reporter blames women for not being more careful and assumes that women can exit the trade at any time:

The discovery of bodies on Long Island has cast a light on the illicit sex trade, forcing many women to rethink what they do and broaden whatever precautions they may take.

Most women don’t choose to stay in prostitution, but instead are faced with no other options. A study in Chicago revealed that most women would exit the sex trade if other opportunities were available to them. Another group revealed that their average age of entry into prostitution was 16. When prostituted women are controlled by violent pimps, poverty and addiction, they have no viable way to leave.

It’s time for reporters to seek the truth about women and girls who are exploited in the sex trade.

The NYT reporter’s description of a woman dialing her pimp on speakerphone for “protection” during a date with a volatile john is absolutely heartbreaking. Any discerning reader would recognize that this tactic offers a woman no real protection from rape or murder. As the pimp is listening in, his thoughts are undoubtedly on one thing—his expectation that she bring home the money. If she doesn’t deliver, there will certainly be consequences. Does this sound like a choice to you?

Instead of blaming women for their experiences of violence, we must examine a system that leaves them without any choices. In Illinois, CAASE and our End Demand Illinois campaign are proposing a network of resources for prostituted people and refocusing law enforcement’s attention to the people who create a demand for the sex trade—pimps, johns and traffickers. Demand that our media take a closer look at the demand side of the sex trade. To learn more, visit www.enddemandillinois.org

Photo: Creative Commons on Flickr by Becca.

Stand up against John's Graphic Novel

2011-05-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

Purchasing sex isn’t something most johns choose to depict in art. This week, however, a Toronto cartoonist named Chester Brown has released: “Paying for It: A Comic-Strip Memoir About Being a John.” He is interviewed in The New York Times about his experiences. Despite Brown’s attempt to euphemize prostitution in cartoon form, he cannot conceal the violence and harm that he and other johns cause. Even the reviewer in the New York Times admits he is “cringing” while reading the novel.

It’s important that we stand up against Brown as he claims that buying sex is harmless. There is no bravery in being “creepy”, as the NYT reviewer asserts. When CAASE interviewed 113 johns about their experiences buying sex, men like Brown admitted that they’re participating in a system that causes harm against women. Brown, however, seems oblivious:

“[Brown] considers — and largely if not entirely dismisses — concerns about troubling issues like sex slavery, thieving pimps and abuse. These things sicken him, but he thinks they are sensationalized and, at any rate, have nothing to do with his own and most people’s experience of paid sex.”

And yet other statements throughout the review of the novel reveal that Brown causes harm, including violence against women and the trafficking of girls and women.

Brown admits he prefers to purchase young women. From the review: “‘She’s a bit too old,’ he thinks to himself, when told a certain woman is all of 28.” Brown isn’t alone in his preference, and the practice of buying young girls encourages pimps and traffickers to recruit children and teens into the sex trade. Johns do not ask for IDs from the girls they purchase, and it’s rare that they face consequences. The girls, however, must live with the scars of being exploited.

While Brown says he never hurt a woman in prostitution, even the reviewer sees through his claims: “[Brown] admits that he’s slightly turned on by the prostitute who keeps saying, ‘Ow,’ during sex, even though she claims she’s not in pain. I cringe even to type that sentence.” Yes, we’re cringing too. Women in prostitution report that johns are the number one perpetrators of violence against them, including beatings and rape.

Johns know that they are causing harm. A few stats from the CAASE study:

42% of johns interviewed stated that prostitution causes both psychological and physical damage to women.
32% thought that the majority of women in prostitution entered the sex trade before the age of 18.
20% said that they had bought sex from women who were trafficked from other countries.

Too often, johns are not held accountable by law enforcement. Over and over again, women in prostitution are sent to jail while johns like Brown simply walk away. And yet, the sex trade could not exist without people like Brown who create a demand for prostituted people. Until we challenge the myth that buying sex is harmless, we will face ambivalent reviews like the one in the New York Times. To learn more about johns and ending the demand for prostitution, sign up for our action alerts at www.enddemandillinois.org

Ordinance Ignores Cause of Prostitution: People Who Buy Sex

2011-04-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

There's been a flurry of coverage on this issue, wanted to share our release with our blog readers. Thanks!

Ald. Jason Ervin (28^th)has proposed an ordinance to ban people convicted of prostitution from walking in public parks and other zones. The Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) believes this approach ignores the root problem—people who buy sex—and could target victims of sex trafficking.

Only 1/3 of prostitution-related arrests in Chicago are of men, and yet the people who buy sex fuel the sex trade. “Arresting and re-arresting prostituted people has proven highly ineffective in combating the sex trade,” said Lynne Johnson, advocacy director for the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. “Research shows the best way to curb the sex trade in a community is to deter men from buying sex,” Johnson said. This ordinance could also affect survivors of sex trafficking and prostitution who have left the trade and are struggling to move on with their lives.

CAASE is the lead agency for End Demand Illinois, the first campaign in the country that strives to change state laws to hold traffickers and perpetrators accountable and to provide supportive services to people impacted by the sex trade.

“Prostitution is not a victimless crime—women in prostitution face incredibly high rates of rape and violence,” said Johnson. It’s estimated that on any day in Chicago, more than 16,000 women and girls are involved in prostitution-related activities. Some women in prostitution report having to service 10 or more men in a single day, which indicates a significant demand for paid sex in our community. To learn more about the campaign, visit www.enddemandillinois.org

###

What was your reaction when you heard about this issue?

Send Thanks to Senator Hutchinson: Our Bill Passed in the Senate!

2011-04-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the Illinois Senate passed our Justice for Victims of Human Trafficking bill (SB 1037). Many thanks to Senator Toi Hutchinson, whose leadership was instrumental in rallying support for this bill. This law would give victims of sex trafficking a chance to remove prostitution convictions from their records.

Click here to send Senator Hutchinson a quick thank you for her leadership on this issue.

Now the bill is on to the House of Representatives. Learn more about the bill here, and stay tuned for more information soon.

Senator Hutchinson

Fox Chicago Covers our Legal Services, Interviews Kaethe

2011-04-04T07:44:00.001-07:00

Our legal director, Kaethe Morris Hoffer, was on Fox Chicago last night discussing CAASE’s free legal services to help survivors of sexual assault. This is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Kaethe addresses why survivors of rape may need their own legal counsel. Through our program, the Sexual Assault Justice Project, we offer survivors of rape with free legal representation and referrals. Learn more about our legal services here.

The Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation believes it is possible to stop sexual exploitation by directly addressing the culture, institutions, and individuals that perpetrate, profit from, or tacitly support sexually exploitive acts against people. The generous support of individual donors makes CAASE's work possible. Click here to make a donation and to learn more about supporting our work.

Victory! Jury Convicts Man of Human Trafficking in Cook County

2011-03-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

Being a “pimp” isn’t cool anymore in Illinois. Instead, pimps are being recognized for what they really are—human traffickers.

This week a man was convicted by a jury in Cook County for human trafficking. This is the first time a jury has convicted a human trafficker in Cook County. According to the State’s Attorney’s Office:

Troy Bonaparte, 46, who went by the name, “Magnificent” targeted and recruited women to work as prostitutes for profit. Bonaparte would rent motel rooms at various locations in the city and surrounding suburbs, where women would service 5 to 25 customers per day. Bonaparte kept all of the money the women earned and threatened to beat or kill them if they didn’t comply with his demands to perform the sex acts.

He was caught in a hotel in Elk Grove Village (prostitution happens in the suburbs too!).

CAASE and our End Demand Illinois campaign send big congratulations to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Human Trafficking Initiative and the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Vice officers, who helped bring the case against this trafficker.

Bonaparte’s case shows that our law enforcement is changing the way they approach bringing down prostitution rings—they are recognizing that in many cases, women are forced into the sex trade and are controlled by traffickers like Bonaparte. Instead of simply arresting the women whose bodies were being sold, law enforcement looked deeper and took the time to bring a case against the trafficker.

Our End Demand Illinois campaign is working to raise awareness about cases like this one—we partner with law enforcement and social service agencies to bring traffickers to justice and to improve services for survivors of prostitution. To learn more, visit www.enddemandillinois.org.

How Lawrence Taylor Bought a Child

2011-03-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, Lawrence Taylor, you are the cause of prostitution. Taylor has become the latest spokesperson for our societal ignorance around the issues of prostitution and sex trafficking. And he’s living proof that the way to end exploitation is to make sure more johns get “busted.”

In case you haven’t heard, Taylor is an NFL player who was sentenced to probation this week for purchasing sex from a 16-year-old girl. While listening to him defend his actions, and witnessing the lack of accountability and punishment for the harm he caused this young woman, all I could think was: Who do we want to protect?

Let’s hear from Taylor about how he bought a child:

"It's the world of prostitution," he said during the Fox News interview. "You never know what you're gonna get. Is it gonna be a pretty girl, an ugly girl or whatever it's gonna be”. When asked about purchasing a 16-year-old, he responded: "I don't card them. I don't ask for a birth certificate."

This young woman was a victim of trafficking. There is no such thing as “child prostitution” because children cannot legally consent to have sex with adults. This victim was also beaten and forced into the trade—other elements of human trafficking. At the most fundamental level, Taylor raped a child. So how can we protect other children and adults from being exploited in the sex trade? Jezebel identifies the crux of the problem quite nicely, and then proposes a solution that will never, ever work:

“Nearly everyone agrees that ending trafficking, both of children and adults, is a moral imperative. How can we do this? One start would be to draw a clear line between trafficking and voluntary prostitution, and to severely punish those who have sex with trafficking victims.”

The clear and concrete line between “voluntary” prostitution and trafficking is imaginary:

Many people we call “prostitutes” are victims of violence and control under a pimp. That means they are being trafficked.
Many prostituted people are raped, beaten and forced to sell their bodies to more than 10 people each day. That means they are being trafficked.
Many of these same people were recruited into the sex trade when they were 12, 14, 15 years old, which meant that they were trafficked.

Do we really think that people like Lawrence Taylor, the people who buy sex, care about victims of trafficking? The only way to protect vulnerable people from being exploited in the sex trade is to end the demand for paid sex. Stop the arrest and re-arrest of prostituted people, and start “busting” people like Taylor who are buying sex and fueling the trade.

Taylor says it himself, describing how infrequently johns are punished: "You never think you're gonna get busted because everyone does it until you get busted, and then it's more embarrassing than anything else."

He shouldn’t be embarrassed. He should be in jail.

CAASE believes that we can end the sale of people’s bodies for sex, by ending the demand for prostitution. Don’t buy sex, and don’t tolerate it when other people buy sex. To learn more about these issues, check out our Myths and Misconceptions fact sheets here.

To join our campaign to end the demand for paid sex, visit www.enddemandillinois.org.

Action Alert: Help Victims of Sex Trafficking Seek Justice

2011-03-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

Did you wake up this morning and think “I want to help someone today?” Well, then March 15 is where it’s at: Our End Demand Illinois campaign has new legislation in committee and we’d love your help convincing legislators that this is a bill to support. Here’s the breakdown:

What is Happening?
Many people who have been convicted of prostitution were actually victims of trafficking. The Illinois Senate Criminal Law Committee is considering SB 2191, which would allow someone to ask a judge to vacate their prostitution conviction if they were a victim of sex trafficking at the time of the offense. The bill extends the filing timeline for these victims because they often endure years of abuse at the hands of traffickers and customers before they are able to seek help. Want to learn more? Download the fact sheet here, complete with the list of supporting organizations.

When?
The Committee will have a hearing about SB 2191 tomorrow, Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 10:35 a.m.

How Can You Help?
Call the committee members' offices TODAY, Tuesday, March 15, 2011. You can leave a message with staff answering the phones, and say "I am calling to ask the Senator to vote yes on SB 2191 when it comes up for a vote in the Criminal Law Committee." Calling all the offices will only take a few minutes of your time and will make a real impact as they consider this legislation!

Who Should You Call?

Committee Chair Michael Noland*(D)
Senator 22nd District - Elgin
(217) 782-7746
* thank Sen Noland for co-sponsoring!

Committee Vice Chair Kwame Raoul (D)
Senator 13th District - Chicago
(217) 782-5338

William R. Haine (D)
Senator 56th District - Alton
(217) 782-5247

Dan Kotowski (D)
Senator 33rd District - Park Ridge
(217) 782-3875

John Mulroe (D)
Senator 10th District - Chicago
(217) 782-1035

John J. Millner (R)
Senator 28th District - West Chicago
(217) 782-8192
* thank Sen Millner for co-sponsoring!

Tim Bivins (R)
Senator 45th District - Dixon
(217) 782-0180

Kirk W. Dillard (R)
Senator 24th District - Westmont
(217) 782-8148

Thomas Johnson (R)
Senator 48th District - Wheaton
(217) 782-8022

Let us know if you have questions!

Northwestern Incident and Porn: Things to Consider

2011-03-03T15:28:00.000-08:00

We’ve been asked what CAASE thinks about the Northwestern University sex toy incident. If you haven’t heard about it, catch up here. Our initial concern was for the people in the audience—had they been given enough opportunity to avoid viewing this? Certainly what’s been described could have been traumatizing to anyone, but especially to those who have experienced sexual assault or abuse. We wonder if the value of witnessing this act was worth the potential trauma it could inflict on the viewers.

If you’re upset about the idea of students being exposed to this, I invite you to examine your beliefs and actions regarding pornography. I wonder what would be happening if Northwestern students had been shown this act on video instead of live on stage? Would we even be having this discussion? And really, sex acts on video deserve a lot more scrutiny than this. Why? Because, as icky as I personally think it was, the couple at Northwestern say the “performed” because they both wanted to and enjoyed it. That’s called consent. And that makes this act different from some pornography. Here’s why:

When watching porn online or on a DVD, there’s no such guarantee that the people you’re watching have given consent. Many sex traffickers are found with filming equipment and cameras with the intent to create and sell pornography. Some women in the sex industry are coerced or even physically forced to act against their will in order to create this “entertainment.” People who consume porn may unknowingly contribute to the assault and abuse of women and children, even if watching the final “product” doesn’t make that apparent.

Then there are the harms that porn causes to people who watch it. One 1994 study found that men exposed to violent pornography were six times more likely to exhibit rape behavior, and a second one in 1995 found pornography use was the strongest correlate of sexual aggression. Pornography changes the way we think about sex and the way we think about people—as objects, instead of human beings. One man interviewed about the effects of porn said:

"Porn makes more men try things. Men who are shown porn at a younger age categorize women more and see it as a harmless crime, because they don't see them as a person."

How does this relate to what happened at Northwestern? What happened at the university was sexually graphic, and that’s scandalizing and surprising a lot of people. And yet pornography is generally accepted as something that’s just part of life, and not worth examining or questioning. If you’re concerned about exposing our college students to graphic and damaging material, it’s time to take a stance on pornography.

Learn more about these issues on the CAASE resource page. Specifically we have a sheet with myths and facts, along with action steps you can take. You can also contact us to make a presentation or to host a screening of "The Price of Pleasure," a documentary on the realities of the sex industry.

-Kristin Claes is CAASE's communications manager. She can be reached at kristin@caase.org

Victory! Cook County Board Approves Amendments to Fund Rape Crisis Services by Serena Curry

2011-03-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

Last week, the Cook County Board unanimously approved two budget amendments that will provide $275,000 in funding for six area rape crisis centers for the second consecutive year. This is a huge victory for CAASE and its partners who greatly benefit from these funds, including Rape Victim Advocates, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, and the YWCA, to name a few. Under the direction of Advocacy Director Lynne Johnson, I worked closely with Communications Manager Kristin Claes, and Advocacy intern Lindsey Lapointe to encourage County Commissioners to continue funding rape crisis services in the community.

Rape crisis services are a vital, valuable resource for rape and sexual assault survivors. In Cook County, the rape crisis centers that we work with provide around-the-clock bilingual and culturally sensitive counseling, legal and medical advocacy, and outreach services. Unfortunately, funding these services is difficult during an economic crisis, especially with the threat of State budget cuts and a lack of support from the City of Chicago. The grant that each rape crisis center receives from the County helps them to effectively serve the members of their communities, and improve each client’s quality of life.

While working with County Commissioners to advocate for funding, I was given the opportunity to meet with rape crisis providers and ask them specifically about how the grants have made an impact in their communities. I was able to collect survivors’ stories, and learn more about how absolutely crucial rape crisis services are to an individual’s mental and emotional well being. We then used this information to create a document which shared the survivors’ experiences at each rape crisis center to encourage the County Board to continue their funding.

The opportunity to meet one-on-one with clients and providers offered me a whole new perspective on CAASE’s advocacy efforts and the significance of the work that we do here. One woman that I spoke with at Mujeres Latinas en Acción explained that the services she received helped her come to terms with the fact that she is a survivor of rape, and empowered her to move forward with her life. Another woman explained that she received services that helped her re-build a relationship with her children. By working to maintain funding from the County, CAASE is helping improve survivors’ lives, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of these efforts.

-Serena Curry is a volunteer and intern for the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation.

Notre Dame Rape Victim’s Case Parallels Experiences of Women in Chicago

2011-02-17T14:14:00.000-08:00

The Chicago Tribune has a story today about a Notre Dame student who reports being sexually assaulted and how her family is speaking out about the treatment she received in the wake of her attack. The writers draw parallels to the case of Lizzy Seeberg, who took her own life this fall after allegedly being raped by a Notre Dame football player.
We are saddened and angry for both of these women and their families, and we want you to know that there are many, many people here in Chicago who are going through similar experiences in the wake of a sexual assault. CAASE and our partners in the community are witnessing an epidemic of victims who are attacked by acquaintances and who find a lack of resources to hold their perpetrators accountable.

The terrible reality is that people who are assaulted are often doubted at every turn—by police, prosecutors, and even their own loved ones. The problem of disbelief is often worse for women like those at Notre Dame who were attacked by acquaintances during incidents involving alcohol. Rather than believing these women and continuing a fair investigation that could lead to a trial, it seems that university officials did everything they could to protect the attackers from prosecution. CAASE sees the same issues here in Chicago, and we fight to counteract this through direct legal representation and advocacy. We must believe people who come forward after they are assaulted.

Our legal director, Kaethe Morris Hoffer, helps rape survivors to navigate the criminal justice system and to seek out options in civil court. She is a compassionate advocate for victims’ rights, and thanks to a generous grant from the Department of Justice, CAASE’s capacity to offer these free services is expanding. Kaethe meets with survivors and their families every week who simply want to be treated fairly.

The Tribune quotes the victim’s father as saying: "If there was a prompt, thorough and comprehensive investigation conducted and they came to the conclusion in consultation with the prosecutor that they could not successfully prosecute the individual, I would rely on that.” In Chicago even this approach doesn’t guarantee justice, as there is a lack of transparency about the way the Cook County State’s Attorney approaches sexual assault cases.

A study released last week by the Chicago Justice Project revealed that it is rare for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to pursue felony assault charges. The report states that while the police had filed more than 1,500 incident reports, only 288 sexual assault cases were approved for felony charges in 2009. That means fewer than 20% of reported sex crimes are being tried as felonies in Cook County.

The Notre Dame victim’s experience mirrors that of many people in Chicago—victims are kept in the dark about their cases, and they are asked over and over again if they really want to go through with pursuing charges. Even if the victim does stick with it, prosecutors may reject the case during their felony review process. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office declined to provide data or information about their felony review process for the CJP report. Until the State’s Attorney’s Office provides transparency and more complete data, it is nearly impossible for advocates to analyze and improve our community’s response to rape.

CAASE urges the Chicago community to read the CJP report about our local law enforcement’s response to rape. Be educated about the realities of this problem right here at home, and know that CAASE stands with survivors of sexual assault every day as they seek justice. We know that our services are needed more than ever.

To learn more about CAASE’s legal services for survivors of sexual harm, click here.

Photo courtesy of Nigsby.

V-Day Love for Iowa Rape Crisis Center's Ad

2011-02-14T13:21:00.000-08:00

Today is V-Day, and we’re celebrating people who work to end violence against all people. Chicago is lucky to have a strong community of people who care deeply about the causes of violence and are working to stop them. To that end, CAASE is sponsoring a mayoral forum tomorrow with other organizations who also address these very issues—it’s free and open to the public, and starts at 6 p.m. at Chicago-Kent College of Law in the Loop. Learn more about the event here.

On a day that’s also about showing your love for the people and causes you care about, we’d like to extend a word of support to a rape crisis center in Iowa called Riverview Center. Their innovative ad campaign is working to prevent rape, but they’re using a message that many people don’t want to hear: "You’re not born to be a rapist, you're not born to beat up your husband or wife, you learn it," said Josh Jasper, the head of the center, which helps domestic violence and rape survivors in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. Check it out:

This ad is completely right-on, but it's making a lot of people mad. I think it’s making viewers uncomfortable because it addresses key misconceptions about rape. We need to stop blaming victims and start holding rapists accountable. When I was in college, they taught self-defense to women and encouraged us to carry pepper spray or a rape whistle. There was no discussion about what consent really means and the role that men and boys have in stopping rape. More than 80% of sexual assaults happen between acquaintances—women don’t expect to be raped by their boyfriends, their family members, their friends. Unless we start talking to boys at a young age about rape a violence, and how they can stop it, we aren’t addressing the real problem. There are, however, many organizations across the country that are led by men and are working to end violence against women. CAASE has compiled a list of these wonderful groups here, let us know if you know of other organizations that should be listed.

In local news, there’s going to be a report on Fox 32 tonight at 9 p.m. about the issue of rape in Chicago and how it’s reported and prosecuted. We’ll be tuning in, and look for more on the topic this week.

-Kristin Claes is the communications manager for the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation

Wired and Venkatesh Perpetuate Prostitution Myths

2011-02-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

The connection between people who buy sex (usually men) and trafficked victims still seems to be a tough one for some members of the media.

We were furious after reading Wired magazine’s latest issue has a piece from Sudhir Venkatesh, “How Tech Tools Transformed New York’s Sex Trade.” The piece glamorizes high-end prostitution, ignores the violent reality faced by many prostituted people and downplays the harm caused by people who buy sex. Venkatesh has many things wrong in this article, so I have addressed just a couple below. I’m sure our readers are going to spot plenty more. Please chime in in the comments here, and over on Wired, and let the world know that we won’t stand for the glamorization of the sex trade.

Venkatesh asserts that women who are high-end escorts experience less violence than women whose bodies are sold on the street. Other studies have shown that the relative rates of physical violence in indoor prostitution are on par with street-based activity. Some studies have actually found that those who engaged in indoor prostitution suffer from higher rates of mental health disorders, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, from their trauma than those who engaged in outdoor prostitution.

Venkatesh portrays prostitution as a lucrative “business” for the women he’s interviewed. Most women in prostitution are under the control of a pimp or trafficker and keep very little of the money they make, if they get to keep any at all. Pimps exact control and make money by taking cash from women and providing the minimal amount of support necessary to keep women in the trade.

Make sure to leave a comment here, and over at Wired. Thanks.

P.S. I’ll be using the #trafficking and #wired tags to get people engaged in the issue on Twitter. Check us out @TheCAASE

Photo by Cory Piña, Creative Commons License

Are We Ready to Satirize Rape Myths?

2011-02-04T12:12:00.000-08:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Rape Victim Abortion Funding

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog</a>

The Daily Show on Facebook

Are we ready to laugh about rape? When so many people don’t comprehend the realities of sexual assault in the United States, I wonder if we’re ready to chuckle all-knowingly at a satirization of pervasive myths about rape. Well, ready or not, the Daily Show tackled the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” with scathing satire from comedian Kristen Schaal. With a straight face and Jon Stewart as her foil, she takes on the alarming concept of “forcible rape” being different from “regular rape-rape” and highlights how essential (and yet quite rare) it is that federal funding is available for abortion. When Kristin describes something as “rape-ish”, I wonder how many people laughed just because they were uncomfortable, not because they understood the absurdity of what she was saying. Do you think it was clear? Some are crediting Schaal with victory after the bill’s sponsors removed “forcible” from the bill. If you haven’t told your representative how you feel about this bill, take a minute now to do so.

“No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act"

2011-01-31T12:03:00.000-08:00

Last week, New Jersey Republican Chris Smith introduced the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”, a bill which aims to severely restrict a woman’s right to choose by denying federal assistance for abortions except in the case of “forcible rape”.

What does this mean?

Smith’s bill will prevent many women who are victims of rape or incest, including statutory rape and date rape, from seeking federal assistance for an abortion. Women and even girls under the age of 18 who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest, as well as high-risk pregnancies that endanger the life of the woman, can be denied insurance coverage if they choose to have an abortion. The “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”, if passed into law, would take away health insurance benefits from women and girls, many of whom will be unable to pay for an abortion if it isn’t covered by Medicaid or private insurance.

One of the most outrageous provisions of this bill is limiting federal assistance for abortions to instances of “forcible rape”, which is a term that suggests that rape is not inherently a violation of a woman’s body, but is only a violation in certain instances. Will a victim of sexual assault be required under this law to provide evidence of the type of rape prior to getting federal assistance?

This bill is important to our work here at CAASE because we advocate for women who have been victims of sexual assault and strongly believe that these women should have access to safe and affordable abortions and health care services.

Unfortunately, the bill has strong Republican support in the House, including House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) who has declared that a ban of federal funding for abortions is one of the GOP’s top legislative priorities.

Want to know more?

Pro-Choice advocates have expressed their outrage about this bill. This is what Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, had to say about the bill

Read the Mother Jones Article: “The House GOP’s Plan to Redefine Rape”

CNN Covers Child Sex Trafficking

2011-01-21T09:54:00.000-08:00

Child sex trafficking happens here in Chicago every single day. Many of the survivors who have escaped from their pimps and traffickers are brave enough to tell their stories and to help fight for changes in laws to help others escape the trade.

This Sunday night, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. CST, CNN will be airing a story about the commercial sexual exploitation of children. They will focus on the story of “Selena”, a 13-year-old from a middle class family who ran away from home and was pimped—she was forced to have sex with strangers for money. A person did this to her, and yet she is the one struggling to fund the resources to recover. It’s called “Selling the Girl Next Door” and you can read a preview here.

As we’re bombarded by these images of young girls, it’s critical to think about what’s not being represented—the faces of the people (mostly men) who are buying sex. These “johns” face little to no consequence for their actions, and they know what they’re doing is wrong. CNN reports:

We posted our own ad, using a photo of CNN correspondent Amber Lyon when she was 14 years old. She told the men who called that she was underage; most didn't care.

CAASE is proud of our End Demand Illinois campaign, which advocates for laws and practices to protect survivors of prostitution. We want harsher penalties for the people who buy sex, and more resources for women to exit the sex trade. To learn more, visit www.enddemandillinois.org.

Ask the Next Mayor: How Will You Prevent Violence in Our City?

2011-01-20T13:17:00.000-08:00

What questions would you ask the next mayor of Chicago? Now’s your chance to ask!

We’re collecting questions about violence against women, girls and LGBTQ people to use at a nonpartisan public forum with the Chicago mayoral candidates on February 15.

Send your questions to Chicago2011MayorForum@gmail.com, or share them with us on social media: post to our Facebook wall, tweet us @TheCAASE or leave a comment on this blog entry. If you’d like, let us know your age, profession and what neighborhood you live in, so we can share this information with the candidates.

The deadline for questions is Tuesday, February 1. We hope you can join us at our forum on February 15 at Chicago Kent College of Law.

For more details visit http://www.caase.org/event.aspx.

Photo by Tom Carroll.

CAASE is on Groupon!

2011-01-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

**Update as of 1/13/2011: The Groupon is closed and it was a BIG success! You helped us raise more than $1,500 for our curriculum. Thank you very, very much!

Today is Human Trafficking Awareness Day. You can help fight trafficking here in Chicago by giving to CAASE via Groupon today and tomorrow! Help us take this opportunity to raise funds for our high school curriculum for boys. Log on and give $12, and tell your friends:

The money raised via Groupon will help us teach young men how they can fight sexual exploitation. Our teachers use the CAASE curriculum, the first of its kind in the coutnry, to teach boys the realities of prostitution and human trafficking and empower them to end it in their own communities.

Your $12 gift via Groupon helps us to expand our classes so we can reach more young men, like those at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center.

Our goal is to reach some of the most vulnerable members of society who could become the next generation of leaders in the fight against sexual exploitation.
Thank

To give via Groupon, click here.

Sex Trafficking in the Suburbs: Mt. Prospect

2011-01-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

Most people probably don’t imagine that sex trafficking happens in an affluent place like Mt. Prospect. Just last week, however, a man was charged with child sex trafficking in a massage parlor in that Chicago suburb. He is charged with forcing a child into prostitution and branding his employees.

When you see these stories like this one in the news, look for what’s missing. Who is buying sex from women and girls? Most likely, it’s men who live in the area and think they have the right to buy sex from another person. When we look the other way as men buy sex, the demand for prostitution thrives, and women and children are at risk of being trafficked.

Read the story in the Daily Herald here.

CAASE and our End Demand partners are proud that law enforcement is targeting traffickers. Together, we can fight to hold the invisible perpetrators in these stories accountable—the people who are fueling sex trafficking by buying other people.

To learn more about how you can help, visit www.enddemandillinois.org.

Photo by Scorpions and Centaurs.

Man in Chicago Charged with Trafficking: Why the Problem is Local and Real

2010-12-21T14:22:00.000-08:00

A hot topic in today’s news, a Chicago man is being charged with counts of human trafficking after forcing his girlfriend into prostitution. According to CBS Chicago News, authorities say the man beat his girlfriend until she agreed to prostitute herself for his monetary gain.

In light of this reported human trafficking case, the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) is urging awareness regarding the local prevalence of sex trafficking in our very own community.

Lynne Johnson, CAASE’s advocacy director gives us the facts,

“As many as 25,000 women and children are purchased for sex in Chicago every year. Many were forced into the sex trade by someone they knew and trusted, frequently when they were just children. We applaud the “We applaud the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office for their newly increased commitment to prosecuting pimps and traffickers aggressively and effectively,” she said.

CAASE is the lead agency for the End Demand Illinois campaign, which fights the demand for prostitution in Chicago.

There are many myths and misconceptions about human trafficking: CAASE offers these facts to help the public better understand the issue and fight trafficking in our community:

*According to the federal definition, ‘Sex Trafficking’ involves recruiting and maintaining another into or in prostitution.
“Aggravated Trafficking”- when force, fraud or coercion is used to get or keep people in prostitution—these are serious federal crimes.

*Contrary to conventional wisdom, trafficking offenses do not usually require the crossing of jurisdictional boundaries.

*Cook County’s new approach to targeting pimps and traffickers is innovative and necessary to ending the problem of sex trafficking: Historically 2/3 of all prostitution-related arrests in Chicago have been of women.

*Research reveals that the average age of entry into prostitution for women living in Chicago is16.

*The word “trafficking” is about exploitation: It does NOT require the movement or transportation of the person. Instead trafficking is defined at the Federal level as the use of force, fraud, or coercion against a victim.

*Research indicates that most victims of sex trafficking within the United States are women and children, particularly girls under the age of 18.

*A number of studies in the United States indicate that many women and girls in prostitution are also victims of sex trafficking. For example:

* 79% of women in prostitution in one study gave an indication that they were in prostitution due to some degree of force.

*In another study, 50% of the women and girls interviewed reported being kidnapped by pimps; 76% of those were beaten by pimps; and 79% were beaten by customers.

The demand for commercial sex is enormous, whether on the street, in strip clubs, escort services, or massage parlors. The willingness of some men to pay for sexual ‘services’ fuels a multi-billion dollar global sex industry, without which there would be no trafficking.

To learn more, visit http://www.caase.org/

What Did You Think of "Saved on the Strip"?

2010-12-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

I watched Hookers, Saved on the Strip on Discovery Channel last night. It’s a new reality TV show about Annie Lobert, a survivor of prostitution (above). I wanted to weigh in about my reaction to the show and hear what you all have to say about it.

First of all, I want to acknowledge that the show perpetuates a lot of stereotypes about women in prostitution. It’s set in Las Vegas, and the B-roll used to tell Annie’s story includes many shots of women wearing fishnet stockings and looking generally happy and glamorous. This made me cringe—the vast majority of women in prostitution in the U.S. are having sex to survive, and they certainly aren’t wearing six-inch heels. Real women in prostitution live in our own community—from Naperville to Elmhurst to Chicago—not just in “sin city.”

However, I think the show tackles a lot of issues that women right here in Chicago are facing as they try to exit prostitution. She touches on issues pertaining to violence, pimps, the legal system and more. I think it’s very brave of Annie and the other survivors on the show to tell their stories. They’re educating the public about the harms of prostitution and trying to help other women. Here are a couple things that stood out to me as being as being informative and pertinent to Chicago:

From what I could tell, Annie was a minor when she was recruited into prostitution. She was lured into it by someone she knew. This is really, really sad and also a very common experience for women in prostitution. Until recently in Illinois, girls could be charged with prostitution even though they were minors, and adults were paying to have sex with them. Our End Demand Illinois campaign advocated for a law that ends this practice: The Illinois Safe Children Act is changing the way law enforcement in our state treat survivors of domestic sex trafficking. Instead of being treated like criminals, youth survivors of prostitution are seen as being worthy of service and treatment.

Annie is also showing how the arrest and re-arrest of women in prostitution makes it incredibly difficult for women to leave the sex trade. This practice ignores the cause of this problem—the people who are buying sex and creating a demand for prostitution. Regina, a survivor on the show, was working to have her criminal record sealed so that she could apply for a job outside of the sex trade. She found this process incredibly difficult and wondered aloud if returning to stripping wouldn’t just be easier on her. This was a really sad moment in the show. Our culture’s stigmatization and legal treatment of women in prostitution is so harmful and cyclical. The End Demand Illinois campaign seeks to stop this cycle by shifting law enforcement’s attention to the cause of the problem—the men who are buying sex—and to stop the arrest and re-arrest of women.

To learn more about how to end the demand for prostitution, visit CAASE's resource page.

Sex Trafficking Revealed in Little Village

2010-11-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

Many Americans believe that sex trafficking happens primarily in other countries, but human trafficking is a problem right here at home in Chicago. Just this week, a woman was arrested for trafficking young girls in a brothel in the Little Village/Pilsen neighborhood. The Chicago Tribune reports here:

Rubicela Montero forced the underage girls and other victims into prostitution and threatened them or their families with death if they quit, authorities said.

We are thrilled to see that our advocacy efforts are creating change. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office and the Chicago Police Department uncovered these victims of human trafficking. They treated the girls who were being exploited as worthy of support, not arrest - and to direct resources toward the investigation, charging, and prosecution of those who profit from commercial sexual exploitation. This is a major shift in the way survivors of sex trafficking are treated.

How can you get involved?

Learn more about the issue. Visit our resources page to read more about human trafficking.

Share with your friends. Send the link to this story to five of your friends to raise awareness about the issues in Chicago.

Join the End Demand Illinois campaign. Help us hold people accountable when they buy sex and contribute to sex trafficking in our community : www.enddemandillinois.org

A few more facts about sex trafficking:

Research indicates that most victims of sex trafficking within the United States are women and children, particularly girls under the age of 18

It is just as likely that a trafficking victim could come from your own neighborhood and be a local teenage girl.
Sadly, Americans tend to refer to U.S. trafficking victims as anything but victims. They are referred to as criminals, prostitutes, child prostitutes, runaways, addicts, or juvenile delinquents. Traffickers are often referred to only as pimps

Thank you for your support!

Looking Beyond the Story of Madame Rose

2010-11-24T19:05:00.000-08:00

Rose Laws, a "madam" who prostituted women on the Gold Coast and was then imprisoned, is profiled by ABC7 this week about her "business" selling women's bodies to wealthy men in our community. In the interview, she reveals many disturbing facts about prostitution in Chicago and names some names. Most importantly, her story subtly reveals the rampant violence and indignity experienced by women in prostitution:

Laws says that professional football players hurt some of her "girls" by holding their heads under water in a hot tub. Violence is rampant in prostitution-the average life expectancy for a woman in prostitution is seven years after she enters the trade.
She also describes sending her "youngest girls" to service men--the connection between child sex trafficking and "high-end" prostitution is strong and clear. As long as there is a demand for young bodies, children will be trafficked. We must ask why we would implicitly allow men in our community to buy children for sex.
Laws estimates her women sold their bodies to as many as 5,000 men in Chicago. There is indeed a huge demand for prostitution in Chicagoland, and it feeds on more than 25,000 women and children who are prostituted in our city on any given day. There are very few consequences for men who are caught buying sex, while women in prostitution are often arrested and re-arrested.

I am genuinely interested in the reasons why Laws entered the sex trade. For the majority of women who do, it is out of desperation, not choice.

What can you do to help women in Chicago who would like to leave the sex trade? Join the End Demand Illinois campaign to fight the demand for the sex trade in Chicago. Respond to the media using our toolkit with common myths and misconceptions, and hold the media responsible when they get it wrong or only tell one side of the story.

Visit www.enddemandillinois.org to learn more.

Security Screenings and Survivors of Sexual Harm

2010-11-24T11:26:00.000-08:00

There’s lots of chatter today about TSA security screenings and pat-downs at the airports on this busy travel day. Our legal director, Kaethe Morris Hoffer, was on WBEZ this morning talking about how the issue affects survivors of sexual harm. She states that the screenings could be traumatic to survivors. Listen to what she had to say, and leave a comment!

Kaethe and CAASE offer low- or no-cost legal representation to survivors of sexual harm. To learn more about our efforts, visit http://www.caase.org/work_legal.aspx.

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

National Day of Action!

2010-11-16T13:29:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, November 17, is the National Day of Action to urge Congress to pass the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and Victims Support Act. This legislation provides victims of human trafficking with access to needed services and shelter. This day of action is organized by the National Coalition to End Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, and one of the organizations in the coalition, Polaris Project, is a partner with CAASE in our End Demand Illinois advocacy campaign, which seeks to transform Illinois' response to prostitution and sex trafficking.

To make sure this crucial legislation passes, please commit to take action!

Visit Polaris Project to learn more about how you can help to fight human trafficking.

Photo by Mike Bitzenhofer

Child Sex Trafficking in Chicago

2010-11-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

The news yesterday about FBI raids that arrested hundreds across the country in child sex trafficking stings was very disturbing. Three children were rescued in Chicago alone. Sadly, the news that children are victimized in the sex trade in the United States is not a revelation, it’s reality.

If you get a chance today, buy an issue of StreetWise. It includes the story of Jessica (not her real name), who was kidnapped in Chicago and prostituted in the suburbs for three years. She was held against her will, clearly a victim of trafficking right here in our own back yard.

And until recently in Illinois, children who were arrested for prostitution could be charged criminally. Our End Demand, Illinois campaign helped to stop this practice in Illinois by advocating for the passage of the Safe Children Act, which took effect in August of this year.

The sex trade is fueled by the most vulnerable in our society, and children are often victims. Here are some startling facts from research CAASE has compiled into fact sheets:

A University of Pennsylvania study from 2001 estimates that close to 300,000 children nationwide are at risk of falling victim to some sort of sexual exploitation. Outreach workers concur, saying that of the 1 million to 1.5 million runaway children in the country, about a third have some brush with prostitution.
The overwhelming majority of runaway, homeless, abused, and at-risk children are approached by pimps and drug dealers within 48 hours of landing on the streets.
Sixty percent of children exploited in prostitution are first recruited by peers.
The U.S. Department of Justice states that the average age of entry into prostitution is 12-14 years old.

We should all be disgusted, but what can we do next? You can raise awareness and take action. Until the demand for prostitution ends, there will always be people willing to supply children for the sex trade. Visit www.enddemandillinois.org and get involved with the local campaign . Read our guide to concrete ways you can help fight the sex trade here.

Photo by Manuel Faisco.

Rachel Durchslag featured on What's Your Calling?

2010-11-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

Rachel has been featured in the PBS mini series What's Your Calling?. She discusses how she became interested in sex trafficking and exploitation and what inspired her to advocate against it.
Check it out at the link below!
http://www.whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/how-much-of-ourselves-do-we-give-up-to-help-others/?ref=nf/

And as always, to find out more about how to end sex trafficking and exploitation visit: caase.org

Celebs Join Somaly Mam to end Child Sex Slavery

2010-11-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

Last week activists and philanthropists gathered in New York City to support the Somaly Mam Foundation, a nonprofit organization co-founded by trafficking survivor Somaly Mam, that supports programs worldwide to end sex trafficking. Also in attendance was Phil Kowalcyzk, President of The Body Shop North America,a company that has worked with Somaly Mam for two years and has recently launched a petition to Stop Sex Trafficking of Children & Young People, which has gathered 3.5 million signatures.

The article touched upon a point made by the event's honoree, CEO of LexisNexus Group, Andy Prozes, that the driving force behind sex trafficking is demand,and CAASE has been working to end the demand for sex trafficking and prostitution through the End Demand Illinois campaign, a multi-year organizing effort to transform Illinois's response to prostitution and sex trafficking.

Click here for the rest of the article!

Also check out this video of trafficking survivors sharing their stories

Who Made Halloween About Sex?

2010-10-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

Photo from Mark Strozier.

Rachel Durchslag, our executive director, is quoted in RedEye about the trend of increasingly “sexy” Halloween costumes, and I thought maybe we could chat about it over here too. Alysse, the RedEye reporter, interviewed Chicagoans about which type of costume was better, sexy or scary. We appreciate our perspective being included in the story—here’s a longer quote from Rachel on the subject:

“As our society is getting more and more hyper-sexualized, people are going over the top on Halloween to out-do the pace. It’s still really taboo to talk about sex in our culture, and yet we’re bombarded with sexual imagery.

I see this trend as our culture’s failure to create authentic ways to celebrate sexuality. Who gets to define what’s sexy and sexual? We’re letting costume companies make money off of defining our sexual desires.

Men, on their own, probably wouldn’t say that they fantasize about a woman in a skimpy firefighter outfit. And yet now that it’s accepted, women feel they need to live up to these standards.

We should think about the role we’re letting corporations play in shaping our identities. It’s frightening.”

What do you think? Is Halloween about sex because we want it to be, or because someone else tells us it should be? And, on a lighter note, what’s your costume going to be this year? Rachel was Waldo :)

Sex Slavery in our Backyard

2010-10-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

When reading the story regarding the woman who was made into a sex slave in Kansas City, I was truly mortified. This woman apparently became a victim at the age of 16, when she ran from her adoptive parents. The couple charged with sex trafficking both stated that the victim asked if she could live with them, after escaping her adoptive parents. Unfortunately, many victims of prostitution and human trafficking are often runaways. They try to lead healthier lives by running away from abuse and then become re-victimized by pimps, traffickers, or in this case, a couple the victim thought she could trust.

To me, the most upsetting part of this story is that the victim is blamed. In the article, people who have encountered the victim have stated that she enjoyed what she was doing, which includes stripping, pornography, and being tortured during sex. In research performed by CAASE, men have admitted to buying prostituted women because they are too embarrassed to ask their partners to perform specific acts. In this case, men were soliciting this woman online and in person in order to perform BDSM. This article also stated that the woman was “mentally deficient” – therefore no consent (if consent was even given) is consensual.

A coworker of this woman stated that she looked “happy and spoiled.” Being tortured by methods of electric shock and waterboarding does not seem like a happy and spoiled life to me. A life full of physical and sexual abuse does not seem like a happy and spoiled life either, actually it sounds terrifying.

Want to get involved and help combat sex trafficking? Would you like to become a voice for millions of women and children who are victimized each year by this crime? Find out more information at www.caase.org

Sarah Jessica Parker and Gabourey Sidibe Join Fight Against Sex Trafficking

2010-10-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Gabourey Sidibe join the fight against sex trafficking in Brooklyn by recording public service announcements to raise awareness of sex trafficking and Brooklyn's new hotline for victims. The PSAs highlight the fact that young adolescents are trafficked and encourages use of the hotline for helping end sex trafficking.

CAASE has been a leading organization in the fight against child sex-trafficking, and was instrumental in helping to get the Illinois Safe Children Act passed, which protects victims under the age of 18 of sex trafficking and forced prostitution from being prosecuted for prostitution. To learn more about the advocacy work that CAASE engages in, visit End Demand Illinois

Listen to the PSAs here!

How Jessica Brought Down a Sex Trafficking Ring

2010-10-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

Too often, stories about prostitution are missing something important. They detail the lives of women in the sex trade, but make little mention of the pimps and johns who drive the demand for prostitution. This article from The Boston Globe gets a lot of things right, and it’s worth a read. It profiles Jessica, a young woman who helps to bring down a child sex trafficking ring in Boston. The author also details the control and coercion of pimps, who are rarely the ones punished. Jessica said this about her pimp:

“I had nowhere to go,’’ she said. “He told me that this was it, that it was me and him and if I left that, this was going to haunt me for the rest of my life. He would find me.’’

Read the whole story here. What’s your reaction?

Speak Out Against the Mobile App for Pimps

2010-10-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

A mobile phone app has been created called PinPointsX that enables users to "locate and interact with erotic partners and facilitators.” In essence, this means that users will be able to check out adult advertisements presented on a GPS map. What this means for sex trafficking is that pimps will be able to sell women and children with zero traceability, as blogger Amanda Kloer describes on change.org:

“With PinPointX, pimps can advertise and sell girls with absolutely no barriers or traceability. They don't have to risk using an IP address to post on a static website, they can continuously move their "product" around while simultaneously advertising them, and, unsurprisingly, the PinPointsX company has put exactly zero safeguards in place to prevent the use of their product for exploitation.”

We must not let this happen. PinPointsX has even been directly marketing the app to johns who formerly bought sex on Craigslist until the adult services section was removed.

In the past, Apple has removed numerous apps that contain sexually explicit material (ie. pornographic images and videos). The app appears to be awaiting approval by Apple while Android has already adopted this app for U.S. customers. The question of the day is will all phone carriers block an app that will encourage and facilitate the sex trafficking of women and children?

We encourage everyone to speak out against this application, as it enables perpetrators of sex- trafficking and exploitation everywhere to hurt women and children.

Sign the petition to stop this app over at Change.org. To help end the demand for prostitution in Illinois, visit www.enddemandillinois.org.

-This post written by Genevieve Shannon, an intern with CAASE.

Meet Serena Curry: Student Activist, Intern and Volunteer Extraordinaire

2010-10-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

The epitome of student activist, Serena Curry balances an overflowing course load, multiple student leadership positions and an internship at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. A self-described feminist who is wrapping up her senior year at Loyola University Chicago, Serena’s work as an activist is really just beginning.

Serena first learned about human trafficking when an attorney visited her high school class. She immediately began doing research and writing papers about the issue. "I'm a total maniac who doesn't stop talking and educating people,” Serena said. “I'm passionate about it, and I'm interested in pursuing this type of work for my career.”

At Loyola she has gravitated toward people and causes that aligned with her beliefs: She co-founded Loyola's chapter of Free the Slaves and became a member of Women in Leadership. Her junior year, Serena sought out an internship at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. She was drawn to CAASE's mission to end sexual harm and hold perpetrators accountable. "CAASE is dedicated to issues that are so prevalent in our society, but not enough people are paying attention," she said.

Serena worked with CAASE's advocacy director, Lynne Johnson, to bring resources to rape crisis centers in Cook County. First, she mapped out rape crisis services by district. She then worked with Lynne to lobby the county commissioners to allocate more funding to centers that needed it. As she sat in meetings and observed, Serena soaked up all she could. "It was a really cool experience," she said.

Their advocacy efforts paid off, with $275,000 being allocated to the rape crisis centers. Now Serena's following up by interviewing staff members and survivors to find out how the funding has helped. The experience of interviewing survivors of sexual assault in these crisis centers made big impression on Serena. "Women have told me that without these services, their lives would be very different,” Serena said. "It's cool because that funding is something I worked on for a long time, and now these women are getting what they need."

Serena is also very interested in the End Demand Illinois campaign. “We're pioneering a movement to end the demand for prostitution," she said. "We're the only organization of our kind doing this work. It's incredible because we have made Illinois a model for the rest of the country for how women and children should be treated.”

When Serena's classmates and friends ask her about her work to fight sex trafficking, she has stats ready to share. "I usually talk about the number of people who are involved. There are as many as 25,000 people involved in prostitution in Chicago alone. I explain that this is something happening down the street."

Serena is well-versed in the issues surrounding victims of prostitution, and she’s very persuasive. “Just like we work to raise awareness for survivors of rape, we need to raise awareness about survivors of prostitution," she said.

Last year at Loyola, Serena worked with Women in Leadership at Loyola to put together a panel discussion about sex trafficking. She also worked with the Bandana Project, which raises awareness about sexual assault among migrant farm workers. "Women working in the fields cover their faces so they'll be less susceptible to sexual assault," she said. She rallied a group to decorate bandanas and display them to raise awareness, and the project will continue this Spring.

Serena will graduate in December, and she's looking for internships, fellowships and other positions so she can continue to work on the issues of sex trafficking and modern day slavery. Her dream is to do a year of service, then to get her master's degree in social work so she can ear more about working in the nonprofit sector. "I'm trying to be as involved in the movement as I can," she said.

To learn more about interning with CAASE, visit www.caase.org.

TimeOut Chicago Story: A Rape Survivor's Journey with CAASE

2010-09-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

There’s a powerful article in TimeOut Chicago today about a young woman who sought CAASE’s help after a man raped her. Our Legal Director Kaethe Morris Hoffer helped rape survivor Suzanne Alton navigate the court system and file a civil no contact order, which forced the man who attacked her to stand trial. We won the case. Read the story here.

We are extremely proud of Kaethe and want to say thank you to all of you who make CAASE’s work possible. Thanks to reporter Claire Bushey for covering this important topic. Thanks also to Suzanne for the tremendous bravery it took to share her story, which will help so many others. Kaethe is working with survivors of sexual assault every single day at CAASE and your support is making that possible. If you’d like to donate to CAASE to support our work, please click here.

Prostitution in the News: Suburban Law Enforcement Focusing on Demand

2010-09-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

We’ve noticed a few articles in the past week about prostitution stings happening in the Chicago suburbs. There are a few things that the staff here at CAASE looks for when we see these types of articles. Are johns, pimps and sex traffickers being held accountable? Were children involved? How does the reporter portray the people being prostituted? Here are some initial thoughts and a few stats from our study Deconstructing the Demand for Prostitution. What are your reactions to these stories?

Sept. 10, 2010: Daily Herald | Nine arrested in Aurora prostitution sting: We think it’s very important and a victory that local law enforcement in Aurora are going after the men who are trying to buy sex acts. The sex trade is a crime that is happening locally, here in Chicagoland, and it is harmful to our communities and to women: 27% of the men CAASE interviewed acknowledged that they had committed sexually coercive acts against women.

Sept. 25, 2010: 4 arrested in prostitution investigation near Willowbrook: This story reveals that people are being trafficked into our area for prostitution. The woman arrested is “from” Seattle—we wonder who brought her to Chicago and if that person is being punished. Of the men CAASE interviewed, 20% said they had purchased sex from women who were trafficked from other countries.

Sept. 27, 2010: Police nab eight in prostitution sting: (Elmhurst) This story lists the names and addresses of the men who were arrested for attempting to buy sex. In our study, 87% of men said that having their photo or name in the local paper would deter them from buying sex.

Notice another buried aspect of the Elmhurst story: The final paragraph reveals that one of the women who was arrested for prostitution was only 17 years old, and therefore released. This is because of a new law, the Illinois Safe Children Act, which will end the practice of prosecuting young people who have been prostituted, and instead offer them a safe place to stay and services. This law was an initiative of our End Demand campaign, and we’re extremely proud to see that it’s working!

To learn more about how you can help with the End Demand Illinois campaign, please visit www.enddemandillinois.org.

Demi and Ashton's Real Men Campaign

2010-09-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore unveiled a new campaign today called Real Men, which targets the demand for child prostitution. This is exciting news, and we love Ashton and Demi's DNA Foundation.

We want to recognize, however, the alarming emergence of the idea that sex trafficking is only wrong if it affects children. "Real men protect, respect and care for girls," Demi said. "Real men don’t buy girls." This is, at the same time, both wonderful and misleading messaging. People purchasing children for sex are indeed committing a heinous crime that happens all too often. But Demi then made a comment that it is acceptable for men to buy sex from a woman who chooses prostitution. That is a myth. Real men must not buy sex from women, men, girls or boys and here's why:

Most women in prostitution did not choose it. Free choice implies that a prostituted person has been presented with a variety of options and simply picks the one she feels is in her best interest. This is rarely the case for those who end up in the sex trade. The most common reason women enter prostitution is to meet basic survival needs. Many others were coerced or abused by sex traffickers. One study indicates that 92% of women in prostitution would like to escape it immediately.

That being said, great awareness was raised today about sex trafficking. We especially like Real Men's focus on ending the demand for prostitution, which is the purpose of our End Demand Illinois campaign. If there were no demand, there would be no prostitution. Let's just make sure the Real Men campaign targets the trafficking of all people, regardless of their age. To find out how you can help, download our 10 Actions on 10 Issues guide for real, simple ways you can end sexual exploitation.

Here's the video of the press conference:

Watch live streaming video from cgi_press at livestream.com

Women Taxi Drivers Are Important Part of a Bigger Story

2010-09-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

I loved reading Tracy Swartz's article about the two strong female cabbies in today's Red Eye. I always want to hear more about successful women in traditionally male-dominated industries. These two women are among the 120 female licensed cab drivers in the city of Chicago and as you may guess, their experience is a bit different than the traditional male driver.

One relates: "You have to be on the defense without being rude. You have to expect what you'd never expect." The story reveals that these women have faced sexual harassment, attacks by male passengers and solicitations for prostitution. While I am not surprised to hear these stories, it adds a new dimension to the story of sex trafficking in Chicago.

We have heard stories of male cab drivers who share profits with pimps and help the sex trade to thrive. Not all cabbies of course, but some cabbies are regularly paid for referring customers to pimps. This came to light in the just-released research on 25 Ex-Pimps in Chicago. This study by Jody Raphael and Brenda Myers-Powell documents how profit sharers all play a role in the sex-trade. They report: "Pimps said they shared profits with a host of other actors, including lawyers and doctors, but also bellman, hotel clerks, bartenders, and cab drivers, all of whom were regularly paid for referring customers."

The act of cab customers soliciting female cabbies for paid sex is clearly unacceptable. Why then do we tolerate the actions of those who perpetuate the demand for prostitution in Chicago? It’s time to speak up and to combat forced prostitution and human trafficking. This effort takes the collaboration of many, including criminal justice professionals and politicians. We must End Demand for prostitution in Illinois.

According to the article, these two female cabbies will soon leave their cabs behind and move on to new careers. One will run for Alderman and one will study criminal justice. I wish them luck in their new careers and know of a movement that could use their help.

Lindsey LaPointe is a Policy Intern for the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation.

Photo by Carl Raether.

Five Truths About Prostitution

2010-09-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

Sudhir Venkatesh is wrong about prostitution. In his recent Washington Post column, “Five myths about prostitution,” he presents a set of skewed and harmful untruths. Here are some real truths here in Chicago and, almost certainly, across the country:

1. Venkatesh says that many men who pay for sex end up “just talking” to prostituted women instead of requiring them to perform a sex act. This is false. Of the 113 men interviewed in a CAASE study about the demand for prostitution, 100% of the men who self-identified as buying sex were purchasing a sex act. Of those interviewed, 53% purchased sex as frequently as once a month to several times a week.

2. He claims that prostitutes are motivated by money and are not coerced or abused. His examples of “high-end” and well-educated women in prostitution are misleading. In “Sisters Speak Out: The Lives and Needs of Prostituted Women in Chicago,” more than 60% of prostituted women reported domestic violence in their household and 21.4% of women in escort services being raped more than 10 times.

3. The relationship between women who are prostituted and the police is not nearly as rosy as Venkatesh asserts. Of all the prostitution-related arrests in Chicago over the course of a year, approximately two thirds of arrests are people who are being prostituted while only one third are customers. Less than one percent of arrests are of pimps and traffickers.

4. Until Craigslist closed its U.S. adult services section last week, there were hundreds of local postings in Chicago every single day. Most were extremely graphic and dehumanizing. These listings continue to be posted on Craigslist’s international websites.

5. More must be done to show our culture the harms of prostitution and the ways to end sexual exploitation.
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-Kristin Claes is Communications Manager for the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation.