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. The brutality of the traffickers, the economic and cultural influences behind a billion dollar industry, and the psychological pain and after life of victims are just a few of the themes of this provocative work-in-progress.

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.

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 of 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. 

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.

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. 

Crobar Nightclub: In October of 2007 Crobar nightclub hosted a "Pimp and Ho" party on "Pimp and Ho" parties are not only incredibly racist (since the majority of individuals who attend are Caucasian and dress up as African-American stereotypes of pimps and prostitutes) but these parties also celebrate a culture of violence against women.  Again, CAASE launched a city-wide letter writing campaign to protest the event.

Book Club: In January of 2008 CAASE launched it monthly book club "Not For Sale" whose goal is to help  expand understanding about relevant issues related to the sex trade, masculinity, and male privilege. To access upcoming Book Club information, click HERE.

Rescue and Restore: For two consecutive years CAASE has participated in Rescue and Restore's outreach day. "Rescue and Restore" is a campaign launched by the Illinois Department of Human Services, and each year they sponsor an outreach day where volunteers visit local businesses and ask them to hang up posters on the issue of human trafficking.  CAASE will continue to host a team each year to raise awareness about this very important issue.

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 prevalence of rape myth and prostitution myth acceptance, how they view the women and children they buy, how they view women not in 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.