© Kaethe Morris Hoffer 2010
Kaethe Morris is the Legal Director of the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation
(*This is a speech given at the University of Chicago’s “Take Back the Night” Rally April 29, 2010.)
Your presence here is love made visible. By standing here you demonstrate concern for those who have been, or are going to be, sexually assaulted. The steps you walk, the words you say, the time you give to talk about, and to oppose, sexual assault, are acts of compassion for victims, and acts of defiance against a culture that continues to deny, to silence, and simultaneously to encourage, the sexual use and abuse of girls and women (and sometimes boys and men) for the pleasure and benefit of people—mostly men—who insist on using their talents to engineer situations in which they can, and do, engage in acts of sexual violation while she (or sometimes he) lies there, or leans there, or is propped up, sometimes inert, sometimes passed out or passing in and out of consciousness, sometimes crying, sometimes resisting, sometimes saying no once, sometimes saying no repeatedly, sometimes whispering opposition quietly, sometimes screaming loudly.
The crux of the problem, as everyone here surely already understands, is threefold: First, there are people, mostly men, who engage in acts of sexual intimacy that are not wanted, that are not asked for, acts for which they do not have consent; Second, and while always insisting that even one raped child or adult is too many, there are way too many men who do this, and way too many girls and women (and boys and men) who are on the receiving end of bodily invasions that leave them feeling forever marked as someone to whom sexual violence can be done with impunity; Third, and crucially, the systems that exist in our communities, which are supposed to deter, to prevent, and to punish acts of sexual violation are so ineffective, so untrustworthy, so backwards, so hostile to seeing and opposing rape as it actually happens, that the overwhelming majority of victims of rape never even report being raped.
In 2010, thanks to girls and women (and some boys and men) who came before us and fought for laws and social change, who endured derision and disrespect, name-calling and physical violence, massive amounts of research has been done and continues to be done on sexual assault, and the criminal law of every state in this country says that it is unlawful for one person—even if married to their victim—to obtain sex from another without consent. But in 2010, thanks to denial, or laziness, or misogyny, or the simple enduring power of tradition and the status quo, the criminal law is being divested of its power to deter or punish sexual assault by a society which continues to treat women—perhaps not intentionally, but certainly in effect—as second-class citizens. Our complaints of rape are now worthy of being recorded by researchers, and sometimes by police, but to the extent that women who are raped in ways that are typical of rape seek to have their rapists investigated or punished, mostly what they discover is a system that is unwilling or unable to stand with them in exposing and punishing their perpetrator.
In Cook County, Illinois, where I practice law, where I listen to and stand with survivors of sexual assault, I hear time and time again that prosecutors in Chicago—the women and men whose job it is to enforce the criminal laws of this state—will not charge a man who is known to his victim with sexual assault unless they have “corroborative evidence” like contemporaneous third-party witness testimony, serious bodily injury, or offender confession. To be clear—what I see, and hear, and was specifically told by a Cook County sex crimes prosecutor, is that it is the policy of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office to refuse to authorize felony sexual assault charges against a man unless the rape was witnessed by someone else, or it was so violent as to leave her with visible bodily injuries, or he was so stupid as to admit that he did not have her consent to do what he did. Now, to be clear, I should also say that the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office officially denies that this is their policy. In fact, they claim that they are willing to prosecute rape even when the “only” evidence they have of it is the testimony of the victim herself. But while scientific research has made many realities of rape incontrovertible, I have yet to see any evidence that local prosecutors are willing to prosecute rape as it mostly occurs.
In the same way that science has established that human behavior has an impact on the global climate (and in the same way that there continue to be people who lie about the problem) there are many things that have now been established as true regarding rape. The first thing that we know is that rape is not rare. In fact, the research suggests that any time you are with more than five women, you are likely sharing space with a women who has been, or will be, subjected to forcible sex. Other things that we know about rape are these: it is mostly committed by boys and men who are known to their victims; it mostly leaves its victims harmed and wounded but lacking serious or visible ‘bodily’ injury; it mostly happens in private; it mostly is committed by men who insist—and perhaps genuinely believe—that they did nothing wrong; it mostly occurs within, and not across, socio-economic, racial, and ethnic lines. Fundamentally, any person who is reasonably well educated about rape will recognize that the bulk of what passes as conventional wisdom about rape is wrong, it is frequently racist and classist, and it fundamentally impairs the ability of most well-meaning people to believe women in the aftermath of rape victims—because girls and women who have been raped usually report experiences that contradict everything our culture still wants us to believe about sexual assault.
And of course, girls and women who experience rape are frequently the first people to doubt themselves. They learn the hard way that rapists don’t look like homeless men, they look like the hottie from math class. They learn the hard way that it is romantic dates, and not dark alleys, that make them vulnerable to rape. They learn the hard way that it is classmates bearing six-packs, and not strangers bearing guns, who target them for rape. They learn the hard way that their response to forced sex is to freeze or cry, rather than fight or attack. While science does reveal that some women falsely claim to have been raped—just as (and no more frequently than) some people make false claims about being mugged, or file fraudulent insurance claims, or engage in other acts of deception, the truth about lies in the context of rape is that the most common lie about rape is that it didn’t occur. Mostly, when women lie about being raped, it is the lie they begin telling themselves while the rape is going on. It is “this isn’t happening” “this can’t be happening” “I’m not being raped” “I can’t have been raped” “he wouldn’t rape me” “he can’t be raping me” “he didn’t rape me….did he?”
And while rape teaches its victims the hard way the truth about rape, too many people who have not been raped continue to cling to outdated myths about rape—just like people who deny global warming—because the realities of rape are far more disturbing than the falsehoods they have grown up with.
So those of you who are here, who either know about rape because you have survived it, or because you have opened your eyes and your ears and your hearts and your minds to everything about it that is knowable, have in front of you the following task: You must insist that the realities of rape are acknowledged—even though the reality is much more unpleasant that the fiction. You must insist that rape as it happens is prosecuted—even though rape as it happens is much harder to prosecute than rape as it is imagined. You must resist, with every skill that you have, all of the lies about rape that continue to be promulgated and nurtured and supported in our culture.
Because you are here, I know that you have already resisted most of what our culture wants us to believe about rape. Because you are here you have already rejected the lie that rape is rare. You have probably rejected the lie that it is being dealt with properly or well by the criminal justice system. And I hope you have rejected one of the worst lies of all—the lie that rape is inevitable, that it is a problem that can not be eradicated.
Because while research confirms what women tell us about the men who do rape, research and women also reveal this: MOST men never commit rape. Think about it. The overwhelming majority of men never, that means not once, have sex with someone who is not a willing partner. And here is another thing that we know: most men who do engage in rape—while they frequently rape many more than one woman in their life—actually spend most of their time not raping. Like most men, they go to school, they go to work, they eat dinner, they work out, they even interact with women—all while not raping. They even, frequently, have sex that is the result of mutual desire and consent. In other words, they demonstrate a clear ability to refrain from engaging in rape.
So if most men can refrain from engaging in rape for all of their lives, and if men who do like to rape are capable of refraining from rape for most of the hours of their day, and most of the days of their week, then rape can be refrained from. And if it can be refrained from, it doesn’t have to happen. It is not inevitable. Currently, rape happens because there are men who like to rape, and they rape when they think they can get away with it. And everything our culture continues to pretend about rape helps them get away with it. And most of the systems that are in place to stop them or punish them aren’t doing what they can or they should to respond to them. So as you continue to work to reveal the truth and destroy the lies about rape that nurture its existence in our culture, keep this truth at the center—rape is not inevitable. We can take back the night. We can take back the day. We can, and together, we will.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
The Effects of China's One-Child Family Policy on the Commercial Sex Trade by Jamie Lynn Johnson
What happens in a culture where males are so heavily valued over females that many families choose to abort or even commit infanticide in order to have a son and assure their family name will be carried on, their family property will stay in the family, and they will have someone to care for them in their old age? To answer this question, all one has to do is take a look overseas at China. The gender imbalance that China is currently facing due to the One-Child Family policy offers unique insight into the cultural and social ramifications of gender inequality.
In an effort to maintain economic stability, the Chinese government enacted the One-Child Family policy, limiting urban couples to one child per family and rural couples to two children per family (but, only if the first child is a girl or one of the parents is the only child from their family). After 25 years of enforcing such a policy—within a culture where males are heavily preferred over females—the results are staggering and have various ramifications. According to a Washington Times article, Chinese boys now outnumber Chinese girls by the millions. Research conducted in 2009 by the BMJ (formerly known as the British Medical Journal) revealed that in the year 2005, there were 32 million extra Chinese men under the age of 20, and that 1.1 million extra males were born in just that year. Recently, the government-backed Chinese Academy of Social Services (CASS) predicted that 24 million Chinese men might not be able to find brides in 2020. However, previous estimates put that number in the 30 million to 50 million range (Wetzstein, 2010). The impact of the lopsided sex imbalance is starting to spill beyond China's borders. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that many other Asian countries with declining fertility rates and a traditional preference for males are also seeing sex-ratio imbalances: Taiwan, 1.19; Singapore, 1.18; South Korea, 1.12; and parts of northern India, 1.20—largely because of sex-selective abortion (Hesketh, 2005).
The Chinese government has acknowledged the potentially disastrous social consequences of this sex imbalance. In addition to increased mental health problems and socially disruptive behaviors among men, the shortage of women has resulted in kidnapping and trafficking of women for marriage and increased numbers of commercial sex workers (Hesketh, 2005).This phenomenon of "missing girls" has turned China into "a giant magnet" for human traffickers, who lure or kidnap women and sell them—even multiple times—into forced marriages or the commercial sex trade, stated Ambassador Mark Lagon, who oversaw human rights issues at the State Department during the administration of President George W. Bush. Lagon asserts, "The impact is obvious. It's creating a 'Wild West' sex industry in China," (Wetzstein, 2010).
Horrified by the egregious practices of kidnapping, human trafficking, and sexual slavery that have become “solutions” to the growing problem of gender imbalance, HBO filmed a documentary which brings viewers face-to-face with the crisis brought on by the controversial one child policy. “China’s Stolen Children” tells the story of two parents
who hire a martial arts expert working to recover kidnapped children in an effort to search for their son. We also see a young couple who are forced to sell their daughter because they are too young to marry and obtain a birth permit. The narrator, Ben Kinsley, states, “The Chinese government doesn’t want the outside world to know about the crisis facing China’s children, so this film had to be made entirely undercover. The film crew posed as tourists, moved hotels every three days, and changed SIM cards after every phone call.”
The One-Child Family policy was passed as a way to protect China from economic collapse, but there are clearly unintended consequences affecting the lives of millions of its people. The propagation of human trafficking and sexual exploitation its influence by people, ideas, and governmental policy. It is important that when approaching the fight to end human trafficking that all such influences are considered.
References:
The Effect of China's One-Child Family Policy after 25 Years
Therese Hesketh, Ph.D., Li Lu, M.D., and Zhu Wei Xing, M.P.H.
The New England Journal of Medicine
Volume 353:1171-1176 September 15, 2005
With 1-child policy, China 'missing' girls
'Gendercide' fueling sex trade the Washington Times January 27, 2010 By
Cheryl Wetzstein
In an effort to maintain economic stability, the Chinese government enacted the One-Child Family policy, limiting urban couples to one child per family and rural couples to two children per family (but, only if the first child is a girl or one of the parents is the only child from their family). After 25 years of enforcing such a policy—within a culture where males are heavily preferred over females—the results are staggering and have various ramifications. According to a Washington Times article, Chinese boys now outnumber Chinese girls by the millions. Research conducted in 2009 by the BMJ (formerly known as the British Medical Journal) revealed that in the year 2005, there were 32 million extra Chinese men under the age of 20, and that 1.1 million extra males were born in just that year. Recently, the government-backed Chinese Academy of Social Services (CASS) predicted that 24 million Chinese men might not be able to find brides in 2020. However, previous estimates put that number in the 30 million to 50 million range (Wetzstein, 2010). The impact of the lopsided sex imbalance is starting to spill beyond China's borders. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that many other Asian countries with declining fertility rates and a traditional preference for males are also seeing sex-ratio imbalances: Taiwan, 1.19; Singapore, 1.18; South Korea, 1.12; and parts of northern India, 1.20—largely because of sex-selective abortion (Hesketh, 2005).
The Chinese government has acknowledged the potentially disastrous social consequences of this sex imbalance. In addition to increased mental health problems and socially disruptive behaviors among men, the shortage of women has resulted in kidnapping and trafficking of women for marriage and increased numbers of commercial sex workers (Hesketh, 2005).This phenomenon of "missing girls" has turned China into "a giant magnet" for human traffickers, who lure or kidnap women and sell them—even multiple times—into forced marriages or the commercial sex trade, stated Ambassador Mark Lagon, who oversaw human rights issues at the State Department during the administration of President George W. Bush. Lagon asserts, "The impact is obvious. It's creating a 'Wild West' sex industry in China," (Wetzstein, 2010).
Horrified by the egregious practices of kidnapping, human trafficking, and sexual slavery that have become “solutions” to the growing problem of gender imbalance, HBO filmed a documentary which brings viewers face-to-face with the crisis brought on by the controversial one child policy. “China’s Stolen Children” tells the story of two parents
who hire a martial arts expert working to recover kidnapped children in an effort to search for their son. We also see a young couple who are forced to sell their daughter because they are too young to marry and obtain a birth permit. The narrator, Ben Kinsley, states, “The Chinese government doesn’t want the outside world to know about the crisis facing China’s children, so this film had to be made entirely undercover. The film crew posed as tourists, moved hotels every three days, and changed SIM cards after every phone call.”
The One-Child Family policy was passed as a way to protect China from economic collapse, but there are clearly unintended consequences affecting the lives of millions of its people. The propagation of human trafficking and sexual exploitation its influence by people, ideas, and governmental policy. It is important that when approaching the fight to end human trafficking that all such influences are considered.
References:
The Effect of China's One-Child Family Policy after 25 Years
Therese Hesketh, Ph.D., Li Lu, M.D., and Zhu Wei Xing, M.P.H.
The New England Journal of Medicine
Volume 353:1171-1176 September 15, 2005
With 1-child policy, China 'missing' girls
'Gendercide' fueling sex trade the Washington Times January 27, 2010 By
Cheryl Wetzstein
Thursday, April 15, 2010
National Day of Silence by Amanda Richter
On April 16, 2010, thousands of students from around the nation will be participating in the National Day of Silence, including myself. For twelve hours, I will be completely silent to honor those whose voices have been silenced due to their sexual orientation. The Day of Silence also signifies the need to address the issues of bullying and harassment of GLBTQ students across the country.
I have listed a brief history of the Day of Silence below that I got off the Day of Silence website. For more information, please go to www.dayofsilence.org
1996 - The Day of Silence is born. Students organized the first Day of Silence, its original name, at the University of Virginia. With over 150 students participating, those involved felt it was a great success. The Day of Silence received extensive local press coverage and a positive response from the UVA community members, motivating Maria Pulzetti to take the Day of Silence nationally.
1997 - From one, to one hundred, National Day of Silence takes off with a web page and much dedication, Pulzetti and then 19-year-old Jessie Gilliam, developed the project to be used in schools across the country. It was renamed the National Day of Silence, and that year nearly 100 colleges and universities participated. Some schools in Australia heard about the project and modeled a similar day for Australian schools.
1998 - The Day keeps growing, the Project begins Pulzetti and Gilliam realized they could not expand the National Day of Silence alone, so they organized a team of regional coordinators who could assist schools better by working with and understanding local networks. Expanding from a one-day vow of silence to include additional actions and educational events, the Day of Silence was officially inaugurated. That year, for the first time in a recognized number, students in high schools joined the organizing efforts, helping double the number of participating schools to over 200.
1999-2001 - More people, more time, a message of unity sets in through the sponsorship of Advocates for Youth, Gilliam worked part-time over the summer of 1999 to maintain and expand the Day of Silence. A first in the project's history, a team of volunteers met for a weekend in Boston to discuss strategy and develop future plans towards assisting schools. The Day of Silence continued to support high schools, colleges and universities around the country with volunteers led by then 18-year-old Chloe Palenchar, as the National Project Coordinator. Over 300 high schools participated that year.
2001 - GLSEN developed a proposal to become the official organizational sponsor of the Day of Silence and provide new funding, staff and volunteers. GLSEN developed a first-ever Leadership Team of high school students to support local high school organizers around the country and a partnership with the United States Student Association, to ensure colleges and universities receive equal support.
2002 - Making noise, making history In what has become the largest single student-led action towards creating safer schools, the April 10th Day of Silence was organized by students in more than 1,900 schools across the country, with estimated participation of more than 100,000 students. Representative Eliot Engel introduces the first ever resolution on the Day of Silence in Congress, which received support of 29 co-signers; additionally, Governor Gray Davis of California issued an official proclamation making April 10, 2002 the National Day of Silence. Local Day of Silence® organizing efforts appear in over fifty media stories across the country, including USA Today, MSNBC, CNN, Voice of America and a live broadcast on NPR. Breaking the Silence rallies are organized with tremendous success in Albany, NY, Kalamazoo, MI, Missoula, MT, Ft. Lauderdale & Sarasota, FL, Eugene, OR, Boulder, CO and Washington DC, among other places.
2008 - The 2008 Day of Silence on April 25 was held in memory of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old eighth-grade student in Oxnard, California, was shot and killed by a 14-year-old classmate because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. Hundreds of thousands of students at more than 8,000 schools participated. Their efforts were supported by hundreds of community-based "Breaking the Silence" events at the end of the day. Together, concerned students created a powerful call to action in order to prevent future tragedies.
There are simple steps that all schools can take to make schools safer for all students, to end the endemic name-calling and harassment that LGBT students and their allies face every day. We need to act now so that Lawrence King and the countless others who endure anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment will not be forgotten, and so that we can create an enduring legacy of safer schools for all in their names.
Students handed out "Speaking Cards" which said:
"Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement bringing attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by name-calling, bullying and harassment. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?"
I have listed a brief history of the Day of Silence below that I got off the Day of Silence website. For more information, please go to www.dayofsilence.org
1996 - The Day of Silence is born. Students organized the first Day of Silence, its original name, at the University of Virginia. With over 150 students participating, those involved felt it was a great success. The Day of Silence received extensive local press coverage and a positive response from the UVA community members, motivating Maria Pulzetti to take the Day of Silence nationally.
1997 - From one, to one hundred, National Day of Silence takes off with a web page and much dedication, Pulzetti and then 19-year-old Jessie Gilliam, developed the project to be used in schools across the country. It was renamed the National Day of Silence, and that year nearly 100 colleges and universities participated. Some schools in Australia heard about the project and modeled a similar day for Australian schools.
1998 - The Day keeps growing, the Project begins Pulzetti and Gilliam realized they could not expand the National Day of Silence alone, so they organized a team of regional coordinators who could assist schools better by working with and understanding local networks. Expanding from a one-day vow of silence to include additional actions and educational events, the Day of Silence was officially inaugurated. That year, for the first time in a recognized number, students in high schools joined the organizing efforts, helping double the number of participating schools to over 200.
1999-2001 - More people, more time, a message of unity sets in through the sponsorship of Advocates for Youth, Gilliam worked part-time over the summer of 1999 to maintain and expand the Day of Silence. A first in the project's history, a team of volunteers met for a weekend in Boston to discuss strategy and develop future plans towards assisting schools. The Day of Silence continued to support high schools, colleges and universities around the country with volunteers led by then 18-year-old Chloe Palenchar, as the National Project Coordinator. Over 300 high schools participated that year.
2001 - GLSEN developed a proposal to become the official organizational sponsor of the Day of Silence and provide new funding, staff and volunteers. GLSEN developed a first-ever Leadership Team of high school students to support local high school organizers around the country and a partnership with the United States Student Association, to ensure colleges and universities receive equal support.
2002 - Making noise, making history In what has become the largest single student-led action towards creating safer schools, the April 10th Day of Silence was organized by students in more than 1,900 schools across the country, with estimated participation of more than 100,000 students. Representative Eliot Engel introduces the first ever resolution on the Day of Silence in Congress, which received support of 29 co-signers; additionally, Governor Gray Davis of California issued an official proclamation making April 10, 2002 the National Day of Silence. Local Day of Silence® organizing efforts appear in over fifty media stories across the country, including USA Today, MSNBC, CNN, Voice of America and a live broadcast on NPR. Breaking the Silence rallies are organized with tremendous success in Albany, NY, Kalamazoo, MI, Missoula, MT, Ft. Lauderdale & Sarasota, FL, Eugene, OR, Boulder, CO and Washington DC, among other places.
2008 - The 2008 Day of Silence on April 25 was held in memory of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old eighth-grade student in Oxnard, California, was shot and killed by a 14-year-old classmate because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. Hundreds of thousands of students at more than 8,000 schools participated. Their efforts were supported by hundreds of community-based "Breaking the Silence" events at the end of the day. Together, concerned students created a powerful call to action in order to prevent future tragedies.
There are simple steps that all schools can take to make schools safer for all students, to end the endemic name-calling and harassment that LGBT students and their allies face every day. We need to act now so that Lawrence King and the countless others who endure anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment will not be forgotten, and so that we can create an enduring legacy of safer schools for all in their names.
Students handed out "Speaking Cards" which said:
"Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement bringing attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by name-calling, bullying and harassment. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?"
Thursday, April 8, 2010
What's Iceland Got to Do with Sex Trafficking and Prostitution in America? by Serena Curry
One of CAASE’s strongest platforms for advocating against sexual exploitation is addressing the demand for sex. With a multi-billion dollar sex industry flourishing in the United States, this is no simple challenge. Strip clubs, massage parlors, and brothels are all examples of places where sexual exploitation is prevalent and often unregulated. Although it seems impossible to imagine a day when strip clubs and other similar locations can be closed, one country has recently taken initiative to address the problem. Within the last few weeks, Iceland has passed a law that will result in the closing of all strip clubs. Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir’s decision reflects the fact that Iceland is considered one of the most feminist nations in the world (See “Iceland: The World’s Most Feminist Country” at guardian.co.uk). Public support for the law was strong, which further proves the strength of the women’s movement in Iceland, and the realization that selling sex is often exploitative and dangerous for women.
The feminist movement in the United States is divided between those who support sex work, and those who strongly oppose it. As an undergraduate Women and Gender Studies student at Loyola University Chicago, I am still trying to determine where I stand on that spectrum. My experience at CAASE has taught me a lot about the exploitative nature of the sex industry, and it didn’t take long for me to jump on the anti-sex work feminist bandwagon. I appreciate the argument that women have a right to express themselves sexually, and how sex work can offer them an easy and sometimes safe way to do that. In fact, sexual freedom and expression are important and relevant issues in today’s feminist movement because sex is still a very male-centered issue when it comes to pleasure. My question then, for feminists who are pro-sex work is this: whose rights are you fighting for? Women and girls in the sex trade in Chicago are overwhelmingly poor, drug-addicted, abused, young, and non-white. More often than not, they do not have the privilege of finding safe and liberating sex work. CAASE understands this reality, and appreciates the individual and their rights. The motive behind ending the demand for sex involves giving everyone in the sex trade an opportunity to claim their rights and find their agency.
I think Iceland had it right. Closing their strip clubs makes a strong statement about gender equality and women’s rights. It will likely prevent trafficking and prostitution that cause women tremendous harm. An employee of an organization in Iceland that campaigns against sexual violence put it simply: "I guess the men of Iceland will just have to get used to the idea that women are not for sale." With the help of CAASE and other anti-trafficking organizations around the country, hopefully the United States can soon get used to that idea as well.
The feminist movement in the United States is divided between those who support sex work, and those who strongly oppose it. As an undergraduate Women and Gender Studies student at Loyola University Chicago, I am still trying to determine where I stand on that spectrum. My experience at CAASE has taught me a lot about the exploitative nature of the sex industry, and it didn’t take long for me to jump on the anti-sex work feminist bandwagon. I appreciate the argument that women have a right to express themselves sexually, and how sex work can offer them an easy and sometimes safe way to do that. In fact, sexual freedom and expression are important and relevant issues in today’s feminist movement because sex is still a very male-centered issue when it comes to pleasure. My question then, for feminists who are pro-sex work is this: whose rights are you fighting for? Women and girls in the sex trade in Chicago are overwhelmingly poor, drug-addicted, abused, young, and non-white. More often than not, they do not have the privilege of finding safe and liberating sex work. CAASE understands this reality, and appreciates the individual and their rights. The motive behind ending the demand for sex involves giving everyone in the sex trade an opportunity to claim their rights and find their agency.
I think Iceland had it right. Closing their strip clubs makes a strong statement about gender equality and women’s rights. It will likely prevent trafficking and prostitution that cause women tremendous harm. An employee of an organization in Iceland that campaigns against sexual violence put it simply: "I guess the men of Iceland will just have to get used to the idea that women are not for sale." With the help of CAASE and other anti-trafficking organizations around the country, hopefully the United States can soon get used to that idea as well.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
No Love for the Local Strip Club
We often think about prostitution as only occurring on streets and in the hidden brothels of certain neighborhoods. But as many of us working on this issue have seen, the shady business of the sex trade expands to places both public and unseen in arenas expanding from seemingly normal, gated suburban communities to the local strip club. Public perception of “establishments” such as a strip club neglects the sexually exploitative practices against women working in this sector.
Debate surrounding strip clubs disregards them as a harmful environment for women, and overlooks the disparity between the women stripping and those who develop and benefit from the industry. When examined more carefully through a lens of gender relations and power, one cannot ignore the power control tactics and violent practices employed by club owners and the men attending strip clubs, the considerable involvement of organized crime and the danger associated with them, as well as the trafficking of women and girls forced to dance and prostitute at the clubs.
A survivor and victim of prostitution herself, Olivia makes public what is most times overlooked when discussing the lives of women and girls in this video blog. Listen to her segment in front of a local Chicago strip club and tell us what you think.
References:
Jeffreys, S. (2009). The Industrial Vagina: The Political Economy of the Global Sex Trade.
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/08/opinion/ed-slavery8
Debate surrounding strip clubs disregards them as a harmful environment for women, and overlooks the disparity between the women stripping and those who develop and benefit from the industry. When examined more carefully through a lens of gender relations and power, one cannot ignore the power control tactics and violent practices employed by club owners and the men attending strip clubs, the considerable involvement of organized crime and the danger associated with them, as well as the trafficking of women and girls forced to dance and prostitute at the clubs.
A survivor and victim of prostitution herself, Olivia makes public what is most times overlooked when discussing the lives of women and girls in this video blog. Listen to her segment in front of a local Chicago strip club and tell us what you think.
References:
Jeffreys, S. (2009). The Industrial Vagina: The Political Economy of the Global Sex Trade.
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/08/opinion/ed-slavery8
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Winter Olympics: Buying Sex is Not a Sport
There are few events in the world that have the ability to bring nations and people together quite like the Olympics. There is something special about supporting the athletes that represent your country as they compete for gold on the world stage. Whether you are favored to win or just happy to be invited to compete, there is often a sense of camaraderie and pride that accompanies any involvement in the Olympics. Over the last two weeks, people from across the world have had their eye on Canada in hopes to cheer for their country onto gold, but many others have had their eye on Canada for a very different reason.
As with many large sporting events, conventions, and festivals, the demand for paid sex increased with the arrival of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. According to an article in the Winnipeg Free Press by Joy Smith, the Citizens Summit Against Sex Slavery issued a press release noting that front-line agencies in Vancouver had witnessed an increase in underage youth being bought and sold for sex on the streets of Vancouver as the 2010 games began. Of course, these spikes in human trafficking activity are difficult to quantify because they often happen outside of law enforcement’s radar by posting adds on Craigslist and Match.com that seem legitimate, but are actually anonymously selling young women for sex.
Many organizations believe that they best way to end the demand for prostitution is to shed light on the beatings, rapes and other human rights violations that take place behind closed doors in the human sex slave industry. The Salvation Army's add campaign The Truth Isn't Sexy features stories and visual portrayals of young women who are trafficked for sex. Along with the Salvation Army, other organizations such as Resist Exploitation, Embrace Dignity's Buying Sex is Not a Sport, have particularly targeted Vancouver to increase awareness and help combat the potential increase in demand for paid sex.
As the Winter Games come to a close, it can be easy to forget the pride we felt as a nation while applauding the success of our men and women who embody the grace and strength of our country. The Olympics offers a great opportunity for the world to stand up against human trafficking in a very public and meaningful way. What better time to take a stance against a human rights violation that impacts hundreds of thousands of men, women and children than when the whole world is watching?
As with many large sporting events, conventions, and festivals, the demand for paid sex increased with the arrival of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. According to an article in the Winnipeg Free Press by Joy Smith, the Citizens Summit Against Sex Slavery issued a press release noting that front-line agencies in Vancouver had witnessed an increase in underage youth being bought and sold for sex on the streets of Vancouver as the 2010 games began. Of course, these spikes in human trafficking activity are difficult to quantify because they often happen outside of law enforcement’s radar by posting adds on Craigslist and Match.com that seem legitimate, but are actually anonymously selling young women for sex.
Many organizations believe that they best way to end the demand for prostitution is to shed light on the beatings, rapes and other human rights violations that take place behind closed doors in the human sex slave industry. The Salvation Army's add campaign The Truth Isn't Sexy features stories and visual portrayals of young women who are trafficked for sex. Along with the Salvation Army, other organizations such as Resist Exploitation, Embrace Dignity's Buying Sex is Not a Sport, have particularly targeted Vancouver to increase awareness and help combat the potential increase in demand for paid sex.
As the Winter Games come to a close, it can be easy to forget the pride we felt as a nation while applauding the success of our men and women who embody the grace and strength of our country. The Olympics offers a great opportunity for the world to stand up against human trafficking in a very public and meaningful way. What better time to take a stance against a human rights violation that impacts hundreds of thousands of men, women and children than when the whole world is watching?
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
From the Streets to the Stage: CAASE Presents "The Johns" by Brittany Finkeldey
You see them while walking down the street. Or, while riding the train. Maybe you see them when you’re watching your favorite television show. Advertisements are everywhere, telling us what to wear, where to shop, or who should manage our investment portfolio. But, what if instead of informing our insecurities, they informed our conscience? CAASE is currently developing a poster campaign that would do just that— informing Chicago communities about one of the issues least discussed in our culture: sexual exploitation and human trafficking. These human rights injustices often go unnoticed because people are not informed nor are they aware of the significance of this problem. We aim to change that at CAASE by raising awareness through a variety of venues. Along with working on the eventual launch of a poster campaign, we are working on a theater production called “The Johns,” which addresses the issue of sexual exploitation from the demand side. The play is scheduled to begin its run in May of 2010 at The Viaduct Theater. The performance will be educational, informative, and powerful. Many people are working hard to make this performance a success. It is our hope that the production will impact the audience in a profound and inspiring way.
Coming from a small town in Connecticut, I lived 2 miles from the Paul and Lisa Program, which worked to help survivors of sexual exploitation. Even as I drove past the building everyday, I never knew that this was an organization that sought to help victims of human trafficking or that human trafficking was even an issue in my state. My ignorance about the human rights violations taking place in my own home town shocked me. I began volunteering with the Paul and Lisa Program and now feel an obligation to inform our communities about what they too can do to help victims of forced prostitution. I believe that it is a lack of knowledge and information that causes many people to fear this topic. Much like the Paul and Lisa Program, CAASE is passionately dedicated to working to educate communities about the monstrosities of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
I provide this article as an example of one of the many, contributing factors that prevent people from stopping sexual exploitation and human trafficking:
The invisible victims of human trafficking, sexual exploitation
San Diego and Tijuana are facing a growing problem
Coming from a small town in Connecticut, I lived 2 miles from the Paul and Lisa Program, which worked to help survivors of sexual exploitation. Even as I drove past the building everyday, I never knew that this was an organization that sought to help victims of human trafficking or that human trafficking was even an issue in my state. My ignorance about the human rights violations taking place in my own home town shocked me. I began volunteering with the Paul and Lisa Program and now feel an obligation to inform our communities about what they too can do to help victims of forced prostitution. I believe that it is a lack of knowledge and information that causes many people to fear this topic. Much like the Paul and Lisa Program, CAASE is passionately dedicated to working to educate communities about the monstrosities of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
I provide this article as an example of one of the many, contributing factors that prevent people from stopping sexual exploitation and human trafficking:
The invisible victims of human trafficking, sexual exploitation
San Diego and Tijuana are facing a growing problem
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