AP calls Sex Trafficking of a Child a "Career"

Myths about prostitution run deep in our culture. Some people believe it’s a victimless crime, or that all women in prostitution have chosen to be there. Often, the media contributes to these myths by using derogatory and shaming language. We thought, however, that it was now obvious to all that any children in prostitution should be considered victims of crime, and that adults are exploiting them in a heinous way. Apparently, the Associated Press isn’t there yet. Yesterday, reporter Ramit Plushnick-Masti filed a story about Houston’s program to “rehabilitate”people in prostitution. Here’s the intro paragraph:

Tricia Chambers began her life heavily dependent on heroin and methadone. From there, she was peddled into child pornography, and by 9 she had a full-fledged career in prostitution, alongside her mother.

A nine-year-old girl who is being sex trafficked by her mother does not have a career. Instead, adults are sexual exploiting and assaulting her. Men were buying sex from a 9-year-old girl. Nothing about that says “work” or “career” or job.

This is a giant failure by the Associated Press and Plushnick-Masti to recognize that Tricia Chambers is a survivor of childhood sexual assault. Instead, they continue to stigmatize her and others who are in a program trying to exit prostitution, by calling them “hookers” and “streetwalkers.” This is incredibly offensive and harmful, and reinforces the cultural norm that people in prostitution are to blame, when many are actually crime victims.

All of this is made even more painful because the story that Plushnick-Masti is covering needs to be told. She writes about the shift in law enforcement's response to prostitution, and the recognition that minors in the sex trade are crime victims. It's terrible that the language she chose to use doesn't reflect the story she's telling.

We need to take action. Tweet @RamitMastiAP and @AP and tell them they got it wrong. A child in prostitution is a victim of a heinous crime. They must do better in deepening reporters’ understanding of these issues and work to not re-victimize survivors of sexual assault and trafficking. The must edit this story and show that they will do more to educate reporters about the realities of sex trafficking. 

Here are some sample tweets:

Tell @AP and @RamitMastiAP a 9-year-old cannot have a “career” in prostitution. Language matters! Pls RT http://ow.ly/mrqLh

.@AP @RamitMastiAP call sex trafficking of children what it is—exploitation by adults, not a 9-year-old’s career. http://ow.ly/mrqLh

You can also write on the Associated Press’s Texas Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AssociatedPressTexas?fref=ts  

Reflections on Roadkill, an Experiential Play about Sex Trafficking

Rachel Durchslag, CAASE’s founder and executive director, attended the production of "Roadkill" at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The experiential play tells the story of a young woman trafficked in Chicago. Here are some of Rachel’s thoughts about the play. 

There is a nervous energy as we board the bus outside of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.  Approximately 20 people have signed up for an experiential theatrical performance that will take them away from Navy Pier and into a Chicago neighborhood for a play that deals with an issue many have yet to learn about—sex trafficking.

We drive west on Chicago Avenue out of downtown toward Wicker Park. Eventually the bus slows downs and picks up two actors playing a young girl and a woman only a few years older.  The girl tells the passengers she is from Nigeria and is moving to Chicago for a better life.  The woman who is her travel companion is her “auntie” whom she will live with and who will help her go to school and find work.  The young actor is wide-eyed and consistently comments on all the wonderful things she is viewing on the ride.  Her excitement and joyousness are infectious and soon everyone on the bus is smiling and laughing with her.  For a moment, they forget that they have purchased tickets to a play where they are going to watch the fate of this young girl as she becomes a victim of sex trafficking.

Trafficking thrives by being a hidden phenomenon.  As long as victims remain behind closed doors, away from the eyes of law enforcement, traffickers can continue to exploit them for their own economic benefit.  This is the brilliance of “Roadkill”- it brings the audience into the hidden space of an apartment where trafficked victims are held against their will.  Because audience members are surrounded by the play, the subject comes alive in an even more impactful way.  We see Mary as she experiences rape in front of us.  We feel her captivity as we sit with her in the room that is both where she sleeps and where she endures countless sexual assaults.  We long for her freedom as she lies in her bed looking up at a ceiling where johns’ faces are projected and quotes from johns’ boards are read.

“Roadkill” highlights the role of demand by showing faces of johns and bringing their real quotes into the story.  It shows how trafficked victims can become traffickers.  And it clearly demonstrates that sex trafficking can look different from an outside perspective.  This play serves as a tribute to the power of theater to connect theater-goers deeply with social justice issues.

Learn more about Roadkill on the British Council's website.

Illinois Man Buys Sex on Honeymoon

Photo by Jeremy Keith

 Maybe you’ve seen the story today. A man from Illinois was busted after allegedly soliciting sex while he was on his honeymoon in Orlando. It’s a nightmare scenario—a newly married man betraying his wife while on vacation together. Of course it’s getting a lot of attention. It’s dramatic and terrible.

And yet. Within the world of men who buy sex, it’s seen as entirely normal. When CAASE interviewed men who buy sex in Chicago, we found that men who buy sex do have wives and girlfriends, and they know that buying sex can cause harm to their relationships. In that study:

• 62% of men interviewed said they had a regular sex partner (girlfriend or wife).
• 75% of men interviewed thought that harm is done to a marriage if a man buys sex, even if his wife doesn’t know about it.

We don’t know what motivated this particular man to buy sex, but it’s time to have more honest conversations about the realities of demand. That's why CAASE is talking to young men sooner about these issues, and raising awareness about the role of demand in perpetuating the sex trade.

Why do you think demand is usually ignored, but this story is getting so much attention?

Action Alert! Final Vote to Eliminate Felony Prostitution in Illinois with SB 1872

End Demand Illinois' bill to eliminate felony prostitution in our state (SB1872) will likely be called in the House this week. It has passed in the Senate, so this is the final vote needed to pass the bill.

Why Does This Matter?
We are very close to ending felony prostitution in Illinois. We want this bill to have bipartisan support, and representatives need to hear from people in their own districts that they care about this issue. The arrest and re-arrest of people in prostitution is a violation of human rights and an ineffective response. Women are being disproportionately punished with felonies for repeat prostitution offenses, while there is no similar upgrade for people who buy sex.

What Can You Do?
Call your state representative today. The call will only take a moment and will show your representative that people in her/his district care about ending felony prostitution.

• Enter your address in this form to find your district.
• Click on “confirm address.”
• Scroll down to find your state representative and district, and call the representative in her/his Springfield office. 
• You can say “I'm a constituent calling to ask the Representative to support SB1872 and vote YES to eliminate felony prostitution in Illinois."

What's Next?
We are proud to have an impressive list of organizational supporters, as well as the support of law enforcement partners: Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and the Illinois State's Attorneys Association. If you're interested in learning more, visit the Eliminating Felony Prostitution page.

Are you all fired up from this advocacy and want to do more?
Our allies at the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault are working on HB 1063 to remove the criminal statute of limitations for sex crimes against children. This bill reflects the reality of childhood sexual abuse, and the fact that many survivors of childhood sexual abuse are not able to come forward until later in life. If you would like to help, read their action alert and make phone calls to the senators listed on the second page.

A Message From Rachel About Transitions at CAASE

After seven amazing years at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, I have decided to move on from my wonderful work at CAASE to pursue a new journey in my life.

Ten years ago a friend invited me to the Chicago International Film festival to watch a new fictional film that dealt with the issue of human trafficking. Having never heard of trafficking, I accompanied my friend to “Lana’s Rain” to learn more.

I never would have imagined that walking into that theater would be the beginning of a 10-year journey of dedicating my life to ending sexual exploitation and harm.

The intersecting injustices that impact trafficking and prostituted people are many and include sexual assault, racism, economic exploitation, and struggling to meet basic survival needs. Yet with all the human rights violations experienced by this population, I found that they were a group of people frequently blamed for their life circumstances and continually re-victimized by society and the criminal justice system. And it was after spending time with victims in Thailand, India and Chicago that I knew I had to do something. It was my first sense of a true calling.

I founded the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation to focus on the root cause of sexual exploitation: the demand. It is because of the pimps, traffickers and johns that the sex trade continues to flourish and lives continue to be harmed. Any efforts to end sexual exploitation had to include a focus on this root cause, and yet seven years ago little work was being done to address demand.

CAASE’s beginnings were in an office the size of a closet, with me and a group of dedicated interns who believed that we could make a difference in reducing sexual exploitation in Chicago. Seven years later, CAASE is a fully realized nonprofit with nine staff members, an amazing group of volunteers, a dedicated board of directors, and four successful program areas. During my time with the organization we have celebrated success after success, including:

• Producing research that has become instrumental to the movement to address the demand for prostitution.
• Creating and implementing the country’s first prevention curriculum that teaches high school boys about the realities of the sex trade.
• Passing three laws in three years to hold sex traffickers accountable and create resources for survivors.
•  Creating countless resources to help people with their own activism to end sexual exploitation. 
•  Providing legal services to hundreds of survivors of sexual assault.

CAASE has become a national leader in the movement to end sexual exploitation, and our staff and supporters continue to ensure that the organization is at the forefront of this work.

The decision to step down as CAASE’s Executive Director was a challenging one. I have cherished being able to dedicate my time and energy to such important and rewarding work. But after seven years I am ready to move on from leading CAASE to focus on other types of healing work. In many religions, seven is a significant number. It is the number of completion and creation. Though my time as Executive Director at CAASE has come to an end, I know that the organization is moving into a new creation chapter of continued impact and innovative and successful work. There truly is no greater gift than transitioning from an organization one has founded, knowing that the work and organization will continue long after I have gone.

I am more proud of what I have accomplished at CAASE than anything else I have done with my life, and I will always be a supporter and ambassador for the organization. Like many others, I am excited to see how CAASE continues to grow and evolve.

Thank you to each of you for believing in CAASE and supporting our mission. It has been an honor to get to know so many of you and to work together towards a more healed world.

We also want to invite you to celebrate Rachel and all that she has accomplished since starting CAASE in 2006. Please read this special message from Rachel on our website, and join us for party in her honor:

Thursday, May 23
Flourish Studios
3020 N. Lincoln
6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Please RSVP via the Facebook event here, or email Karen Beilstein at: kbeilstein@caase.org if you plan to attend.

Young Man Tries to Buy Sex in Suburbs

This story is on the homepage of the Chicago Tribune rightnow:

We don’t know anything more about this case than what is in the story, but let’s all pause for a moment and reflect on what’s not in that headline: 14-year-old boy (presumably) uses iPad to try and buy sex.

We're not saying it's ok that he was attacked. But there are a lot of questions here that pretty serious.  Why did this young man think that was something he should do? What had he heard or been taught that led him to believe that buying sex was ok and something he should use his savings for?

The truth is that on any given day in Chicago, there are more than 16,000 women and girls involved in prostitution. And thousands and thousands of men, in our own neighborhoods, are buying sex. At some point in their lives, someone or something told them that it was ok to buy another human being. Or, even if it wasn't ok, that they wouldn't face any consequences. 

CAASE working on this problem, in classrooms in Chicagoland. Our curriculum for young men in high school is starting conversations now, so that students can learn about the realities of prostitution before they’re faced with these types of decisions. So they can talk to each other about healthy masculinity, and why buying sex has nothing to do with being a real man.

You canlearn more about our curriculum for young men here. 

Op-Ed: Eliminate Felony Prostitution in Illinois

This piece is from Lynne Johnson is policy and advocacy director for Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, which leads the End Demand Illinois campaign. This op-ed ran this morning in the Chicago Sun-Times. 

It’s time to call it off. The 13-year-old experiment of charging prostitution as a felony in Illinois has failed. People in prostitution are being cycled through the criminal justice system without access to the help they really need, and the people causing the harm are going unpunished. Recently, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Commissioner Bridget Gainer introduced a resolution calling for an end to felony prostitution charges in Cook County, in part to relieve pressure on the overcrowded jail. We are encouraged that local officials understand how wasteful and unfair felony prostitution really is, but the problem extends far beyond Cook County. To get to the root cause, the End Demand Illinois campaign is lobbying for a bill that would eliminate felony prostitution charges throughout our entire state.

Glenda Sykes is determined to help make that happen. In March, Glenda testified before members of the Illinois Senate and explained how felony charges for prostitution had trapped her in a cycle of exploitation. “I had no hope,” she told them. “I thought I would die on the streets.” While it might seem like charging prostituted people with felonies could deter them, high recidivism rates prove that the punishment isn’t the answer. Glenda’s 13 felony prostitution convictions did not help her escape the sex trade, treat her drug problem or find employment. Now, Glenda is getting support from community-based organizations, but those felonies have impeded her from pursuing her dream to become a nurse. Glenda volunteers with other survivors at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless to change things for people who are still struggling to get out of prostitution.

The intentions behind the proposed Cook County moratorium on felony prostitution are good, but it is not the most effective response. A moratorium would only affect Cook County and would depend upon the cooperation of local law enforcement who would be under no legal obligation to follow it. Cook County officials also support the End Demand Illinois bill to eliminate felony prostitution statewide, which could save the Illinois Department of Corrections more than $2 million annually. It would also bring Illinois in line with how the rest of the country responds; only seven other states charge prostitution as a felony.

Meanwhile, people who buy sex report that police ignore them and only target women and girls for arrest. The numbers reflect that reality. Under state law in 2011, there were 1,871 arrests of prostituted people but only 95 arrests for solicitation. Trying to buy sex—solicitation—is merely treated as a misdemeanor. In interviews, johns repeatedly say that facing legal consequences would make them think twice about buying sex. If you don’t want to see prostitution in your community, ask local police to go after the johns who create the demand for paid sex.

It’s time to rethink our response to prostitution and for the General Assembly to eliminate the felony charge. Most people in the sex trade face chronic homelessness and substance abuse, and many engage in prostitution for basic necessities like food and shelter. In other parts of the country, prostituted people are offered support and services without being charged with a felony, and it’s working. Survivors say their lives change when they meet people like Glenda—people who have been where they are and can show them a way out.

For more information visit www.enddemandillinois.org