National Video Conferencing Highlighting the Work Of Sheriff Dart:  On April 13, 2009 the Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center partnered with the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation to host a multi-city briefing with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart to highlight his work to combat sexual exploitation. The event also featured a preliminary release of Jody Raphael's research with ex-pimps, a discussion by Kaethe Morris Hoffer, CAASE's attorney, on usage of civil law to hold sexual exploiters accountable, and the announcement of an exciting campaign to significantly change Illinois law which would offer services to sexually exploited individuals and increase penalties and prosecution of their exploiters. The campaign is called "End Demand Illinois."

Cities participating via video-conference were Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, New York City, Washington DC and Springfield, IL. Approximately 125 people participated in the meeting. Participants in each city included attorneys who are filing federal and state cases against traffickers, service providers, and activists working directly with victims, members of law enforcement and other pertinent government agencies, and representatives from foundations.

Price of Pleasure: In October 2008 CAASE partnered with Open Lens Media from New York to host six screenings of their film "The Price Of Pleasure" at universities and colleges throughout the city.  Check out the trailer and get information about the film at www.thepriceofpleasure.com. You can contact us at the CAASE office to purchase a copy of the DVD.

Price of Sex: In May of 2008 CAASE partnered with DePaul's Women's Center to host a two-day film festival featuring six films about prostitution and the sex trade.  Each film was followed by a panel discussion with experts in the field.  This film festival will be an annual event. 

Research Release: With limited comprehensive research on the demand side of the sex trade in existence in the United States, the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation partnered with Prostitution Research and Education and the Chicago Coalition For the Homeless in 2007 to interview 113 men who buy sex.  The results of this research shed light on the thinking and behavioral patterns of these men, their acceptance rape and prostitution mythology, how they view the women and children they buy, how they view women outside of prostitution, how perceptions of entitlement play a key role in the perpetuation of the sex trade, and how we can create effective intervention initiatives to curb demand for prostitution.  We released the research in May of 2007.  To read the study, please click HERE.

Body and Sold: Each year in Chicago thousands of youth end up victimized in the sex trade.  Chicago has been designated by the F.B.I. as one of thirteen locations in the United States that has high-intensity child prostitution.  In an attempt to help youth identify and avoid situations that make them vulnerable to sexual exploitation CAASE partnered with the Center on Halsted to produce the play “Body and Sold” in March of 2007 and April of 2008.  The play tells the stories of young Americans from Hartford, Boston and Minneapolis who left home and were seduced, lured, or kidnapped into a life of violence and prostitution.  The stark honesty of the play strongly portrays the real life circumstances faced by sexually exploited youth. 

Crunch Gym Protest: In October of 2007 Crunch Gym added an advanced pole dancing class titled "Turning Tricks" to its offered workout classes.  Though CAASE sent letters and called managers at Crunch to complain and explain the harms of using terms that normalize the sex trade, Crunch said that they would not change the name of their class because they are "edgy".  In response, CAASE launched a city-wide letter-writing campaign as well as collected 150 signatures to protest the class.  

Transit Boycott: In alliance with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, CAASE orchestrated a city-wide boycott of Transit nightclub’s “Pimp and Ho” event as a means to raise awareness about the harms that pimps cause individuals caught in the sex trade. More than 100 individuals were mobilized to protest the event and at least four news sources produced stories on the harms that pimps cause prostituted women and children.

Art for Awareness: April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and to honor the month CAASE partnered with PAVE (Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment) to host "Art for Awareness: Shattering the Silence of Sexual Violence".  Together the two organizations hosted three days worth of activities including an art project to raise awareness about sexual violence; a poetry/music/performance event; and a film festival featuring films that address issues of sexual violence and sexual exploitation.

Becoming Natasha: In September of 2006 CAASE hosted the theater troupe Isadora Production’s play “Becoming Natasha”. “Becoming Natasha” is a story of three victims of trafficking and their capacity to survive at any cost. Inspired by the book “The Natashas” by Victor Malarek, this play is the first production of its kind to expose the issues behind human trafficking. This provocative work-in-progress addresses the brutality of the traffickers, the economic and cultural influences behind a billion dollar industry, and the psychological pain and after life of victims.