30K Chicago Teens Empowered to End Sexual Violence
On April 7th, we passed a momentous milestone. We reached our 30,000th Chicago teen with sexual violence prevention education workshops! Providing programs that are proven to shift beliefs about sexual harm is crucial to CAASE’s mission of ending it. Consider how all those students will use the information from our sessions: Some will disrupt an act of sexual harassment on public transit. Others will start conversations about dating violence at the family dinner table. They might feel inspired to organize their communities and change laws to better support survivors. The impact of our work is limitless!
Our free in-school and virtual lessons prioritize topics young people want to discuss—like gender, healthy relationships, consent, sexual harm, and the realities of the commercial sex trade—and empower teens to think critically about rape culture. In their own words, students have shared:
“It’s hard to hear the words harassment, rape, sexual assault, etc. but you made us feel like we’re important and gave us a safe environment to be in…”
– Junior at John Hancock High School
Participants can better recognize harmful attitudes and behaviors at the end of our workshops. Our Educators offer a space for conversations that youth might not otherwise have, provide resources, and create innovative programs that directly respond to student needs. For example, CAASE developed new workshops on sexting and pornography based on student feedback. They also evolved our session on consent to reflect students’ growing understanding of the concept and their desire to focus on how it’s practiced.
“Because of what I’ve learned, I will be more aware of casual acts of rape culture around me and more prepared to stand against it.”
– Junior at Nelson Mandela School High School
Passing the 30,000 participants milestone during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (April), which focuses on expanding public knowledge about sexual violence and supporting community efforts to prevent it, is especially meaningful. We look forward to reaching thousands more students in the remainder of 2022 and beyond.
You can help us continue empowering thousands of teens each year and celebrate this achievement by donating now to our Race for CAASE Team Fundraiser by June 17th, 2022. Find details, donate, or sign up to participate here.
This piece was published on April 12, 2022. It was authored by Hayley Forrestal. Learn more about our staff here.
