Surviving the Mic: Virtually Together
2023-05-18 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-06-15 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-07-20 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-08-17 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-09-21 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-10-19 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-11-16 15:00 - 17:00, 2023-12-21 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Jane Addams Hull House, 800 S Halsted St., Chicago, IL, United States
Third Thursday of each month, 3-5PM CST
Surviving the Mic: Virtually Together is an online gathering space for survivors of sexual harm and those who support them, either personally or professionally or both.
Join the Gathering on Zoom
The virtual gathering happens on the third Thursday of each month, from 3-5pmCST, and is facilitated by Mojdeh Stoakley, with occasional guest facilitators. The gathering begins with a check in and dialogue on current events, followed by a trauma-informed writing workshop designed for survivors of sexual harm. Attendees are invited to share their writing, if comfortable.
Virtually Together is supported by the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation and is produced and facilitated by Surviving the Mic.
More information about the Surviving the Mic method for holding brave space for those navigating the effects of trauma due to sexual violence is available at www.survivingthemic.org
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lde6srjMpHdCpozm8IUfBeYoqvKviVfCU

Let’s Chat Over Lunch: Community Forum
2023-05-24 13:00 - 14:00, 2023-06-28 13:00 - 14:00, 2023-09-27 13:00 - 14:00, 2023-10-25 13:00 - 14:00 | Jane Addams Hull House, 800 S Halsted St., Chicago, IL, United States
Fourth Wednesday of each month, 1-2PM CT
Join CAASE for our monthly virtual community forum, Let’s Chat Over Lunch. At each gathering, we’ll discuss current cultural events, media, and news headlines related to sexual harm and/or social injustice. Let’s Chat Over Lunch will be held every 4th Wednesday of the month from 1pm-2pm.
In September, we’ll talk about how myths about rape lead to defense for perpetrators and dismissal of survivors as highlighted by letters of support ahead of actor Danny Masterson’s conviction.
Topics for each gathering will be updated as current events unfold.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81030893716?pwd=[REDACTED]

Let’s Chat Over Lunch: Community Forum
2023-05-24 13:00 - 14:00 | Jane Addams Hull House, 800 S Halsted St., Chicago, IL, United States
Fourth Wednesday of each month, 1-2PM CT
Join CAASE for our monthly virtual community forum, Let’s Chat Over Lunch. At each gathering, we’ll discuss current cultural events, media, and news headlines related to sexual harm and/or social injustice. Let’s Chat Over Lunch will be held every 4th Wednesday of the month from 1pm-2pm.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and we will discuss how mental health is weaponized to perpetrate sexual harm and cast doubt on survivors reports.

Topics for each gathering will be updated as current events unfold.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81030893716?pwd=[REDACTED]

In-Person Legal Consultation for Survivors at the YWCA
2023-05-31 10:00 - 15:00 | YWCA Parks Francis Center, 6600 S Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
May 31, 2023, 10:00am-3:00pm
YWCA Parks Francis Center
6600 S Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL 60637

CAASE provides free legal consultation and services to survivors of sexual assault, sex trafficking, or sexual stalking. You can talk to one of our attorneys in English or Spanish at this event. No appointment is needed.
CAASE Legal Services
CAASE attorneys handle criminal and civil matters and can work to:

Assert and uphold your victim’s rights within the criminal justice system by advocating for you. For example: joining you at law enforcement interviews, following up with police, arguing in court, and more
Getting you legal protection from offenders through protective orders
Pushing for support, accommodations, and accountability from your employer and/or school (often through Title IX)
Seeking financial damages from your perpetrator, employer, or school through civil lawsuits
Taking action against revenge porn and cyber sexual abuse
Helping clear criminal records for sex trafficking survivors

Who CAASE Can Help
We work on cases that took place in Cook County and involve victims aged 13+. We cannot assist with cases involving criminal defense, divorce, custody, property in common, family court, or immigration.
Click to learn more about our free legal services for survivors of sexual harm.

In-Person Legal Consultation for Survivors
2023-06-16 10:00 - 15:00, 2023-07-16 10:00 - 15:00, 2023-08-16 10:00 - 15:00, 2023-09-16 10:00 - 15:00, 2023-10-16 10:00 - 15:00, 2023-11-16 10:00 - 15:00, 2023-12-16 10:00 - 15:00 | YWCA Parks Francis Center, 6600 S Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
Third Friday of Each Month, 10a-3p
YWCA Parks Francis Center
6600 S Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL 60637

CAASE provides free legal consultation and services to survivors of sexual assault, sex trafficking, or sexual stalking. You can talk to one of our attorneys in English or Spanish at this event. No appointment is needed.
CAASE Legal Services
CAASE attorneys handle criminal and civil matters and can work to:

Assert and uphold your victim’s rights within the criminal justice system by advocating for you. For example: joining you at law enforcement interviews, following up with police, arguing in court, and more
Getting you legal protection from offenders through protective orders
Pushing for support, accommodations, and accountability from your employer and/or school (often through Title IX)
Seeking financial damages from your perpetrator, employer, or school through civil lawsuits
Taking action against revenge porn and cyber sexual abuse
Helping clear criminal records for sex trafficking survivors

For more information about CAASE’s legal services or this event, please contact our Legal Director, Elizabeth Payne, at 773-244-2230, ext. 209, or email legal@caase.org.
Who CAASE Can Help
We work on cases that took place in Cook County and involve victims aged 13+. We cannot assist with cases involving criminal defense, divorce, custody, property in common, family court, or immigration.
Click to learn more about our free legal services for survivors of sexual harm.

Let’s Chat Over Lunch: Community Forum
2023-06-28 13:00 - 14:00 | Jane Addams Hull House, 800 S Halsted St., Chicago, IL, United States
Fourth Wednesday of each month, 1-2PM CT
Join CAASE for our monthly virtual community forum, Let’s Chat Over Lunch. At each gathering, we’ll discuss current cultural events, media, and news headlines related to sexual harm and/or social injustice. For June, we’ll focus on how to be better allies for LGBTQ+ people, especially in the current climate of intolerance and hate.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81030893716?pwd=[REDACTED]
Let’s Chat Over Lunch will be held every 4th Wednesday of the month from 1pm-2pm.

Survivors Supporting Survivors in the Movement
2023-06-29 13:00 - 14:00 | Jane Addams Hull House, 800 S Halsted St., Chicago, IL, United States
Thur. June 29, 2023 from 1-2pm
Topic: Supporting fellow survivors in the anti gender-based violence movement who are LGBTQ+.
The Community Engagement program at CAASE invites fellow service providers working in the anti-sexual violence movement to our quarterly gathering: Survivors Supporting Survivors in the Movement. We will discuss a new relevant topic each time.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2651574307

About Survivors Supporting Survivors in the Movement:
These gatherings will give support, visibility, and voice to people working within the movement who have a lived experience of surviving sexual harm.
For far too long there has been an unspoken understanding within the movement that in order to work most effectively and maintain professional standards we must deny or minimize our identity as a survivor. This only serves to further reinforce the stigma and shame associated with sexual harm that we are working so hard to change.
Facilitated by Anika Sterling Florez, our quarterly gathering of survivor service providers will give us a space to discuss many issues specific to survivors working in the movement in order to support the work of helping other survivors.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2651574307

Let’s Chat Over Lunch: Community Forum
2023-07-26 13:00 - 14:00 | Jane Addams Hull House, 800 S Halsted St., Chicago, IL, United States
Fourth Wednesday of each month, 1-2PM CT
Join CAASE for our monthly virtual community forum, Let’s Chat Over Lunch. At each gathering, we’ll discuss current cultural events, media, and news headlines related to sexual harm and/or social injustice. Let’s Chat Over Lunch will be held every 4th Wednesday of the month from 1pm-2pm.
In July, we’ll focus on how recent Supreme Court rulings—particularly on affirmative action—limit opportunities for people from marginalized backgrounds who are also disproportionately impacted by sexual harm.

Topics for each gathering will be updated as current events unfold.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81030893716?pwd=[REDACTED]

Let’s Chat Over Lunch: Community Forum
2023-08-23 13:00 - 14:00, 2023-09-23 13:00 - 14:00, 2023-10-23 13:00 - 14:00, 2023-11-23 13:00 - 14:00, 2023-12-23 13:00 - 14:00 | Jane Addams Hull House, 800 S Halsted St., Chicago, IL, United States
Fourth Wednesday of each month, 1-2PM CT
Join CAASE for our monthly virtual community forum, Let’s Chat Over Lunch. At each gathering, we’ll discuss current cultural events, media, and news headlines related to sexual harm and/or social injustice. Let’s Chat Over Lunch will be held every 4th Wednesday of the month from 1pm-2pm.
In August, we’ll focus on how images of racialized violence in the media impact anti-racism work and the struggle for equity.
Topics for each gathering will be updated as current events unfold.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81030893716?pwd=[REDACTED]

Celebrating Allies
2023-10-12 17:30 - 20:30 | Skadden, 320 S. Canal St., Chicago, IL, 60606, United States
Thank you to everyone who joined us and donated toward our 2023 Celebrating Allies fundraiser on October 12th. You can read about the incredible evening here.
Join us at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation’s 2023 annual fundraiser as we bring together our supporters, advocates, allies, and survivors to celebrate the work of ending sexual harm and uplift those who are making a difference. This year, we will honor author, activist, and cultural critic Mikki Kendall for her inspiring writing which brilliantly exposes how, in her words, “Feminism in the hood is for everyone, because everyone needs it.”
Thursday, October 12, 2023
5:30 – 8:30pm CDT
Skadden Arps 155 N. Wacker Drive, 28th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606
Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
Tickets
Ticket sales ended at 2pm on October 12, 2023. You can still donate to support survivors and CAASE’s work to end sexual harm.
GIVE NOW
Honorees and Speakers
Mikki Kendall – Visionary Award Honoree
Author, Activist, and Cultural Critic
Mikki Kendall is a writer, diversity consultant, and occasional feminist; she has appeared on the BBC, NPR, The Daily Show, PBS, Good Morning America, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, WBEZ, and Showtime, and discusses race, feminism, police violence, tech, and pop culture at institutions and universities across the country. The Chicagoan’s 2020 New York Times-bestselling book HOOD FEMINISM was justly recognized for its poignant critique of racism within the feminist movement. It received the Chicago Review of Books Award and was named a best book of the year by BBC, Bustle, and TIME. Mikki is also the author of AMAZONS, ABOLITIONISTS, AND ACTIVISTS, a graphic novel illustrated by A. D’Amico. Her essays can be found at TIME, the New York Times, The Guardian, the Washington Post, Essence, Vogue, The Boston Globe, NBC, and a host of other sites. Her writing reflects CAASE’s strategic goals of increasing accountability to those who are most marginalized and impacted by sexual harm, strengthening intersectional equity, and ending racism within and beyond the anti gender-based violence movement.

Jane Doe* – Speaker
Survivor and former CAASE client
Guests will have the privilege of hearing directly from a survivor about the impact of sexual harm and the power of seeking justice with the support of compassionate allies. She is a former client of CAASE’s legal services and we’re honored to welcome her as a speaker. She has chosen to remain *anonymous in public postings.

Gail Lee – Pro Bono Luminary Honoree
Attorney
Gail is an Associate in the litigation department at Skadden Arps, where she has made representing survivors of sexual assault the cornerstone of her pro bono practice. Gail obtained her Juris Doctor with honors at the University of Pennsylvania, where she co-chaired the Penn chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, a public interest and human rights focused bar organization, and served as the Education Chair of the Penn chapter of Lambda Legal, a national organization focused on achieving equal rights and protections for LGBT individuals. Gail received a B.A. with honors from the University of Kansas, where she majored in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and minored in Public Policy and Art History. We’ll be recognizing Gail for her outstanding legal work and exceptional compassion on behalf of survivors of sexual harm. She is the recipient of our 2023 Pro Bono Luminary Award.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP – Pro Bono Excellence Honoree
Law Firm
Gail is an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. We’re also honoring the firm for its lasting commitment to providing exceptional pro bono services in partnership with CAASE and supporting survivors. We’re proud to present them with our 2023 Pro Bono Excellence Award.

Sauntè Harden-Tate – Performer
Writer and Spoken Word Artist
Sauntè Harden-Tate (pronounced Sahn-tay) is a Black American Chicago Westside Native, creative writer, Advocate, Community Educator, Trauma Advocate, proud mother of two, and wife. With a deep-rooted passion for healing, advocating, and educating the community on trauma, Saunte has over 10 years of advocacy and prevention work. With her deep understanding of trauma, Sauntè has a special affinity for uplifting and educating the community on the long-stemming traumas and struggles that disproportionately affect the black community. Knowing firsthand and witnessing the depth of trauma among black people, Sauntè has a profound desire to start the healing process. She created a web show called “Oh! We Gon’ Talk!” which facilitates conversations centered around generational trauma within the black community. Sauntè not only uses public speaking to advocate and educate, but she also uses poetry and writing to share with others about different traumas and emotions. Sauntè will be writing and performing an original piece of poetry inspired by Hood Feminism, which was commissioned for the Celebrating Allies event.
DONATE NOW

Donate
Support survivors and back our mission to end sexual harm by giving today. Here are some ways your donation helps us in the fight against sexual harm:

$100 provides a stipend for survivors who share expertise and input on CAASE policies and programs
$350 enables the Prevention team to conduct a one-hour training on sexting or pornography to a classroom of High School students
$500 funds the hosting of one focus or support group for survivors
$1,000 funds the purchase of one computer for a CAASE staffer
$1,800 covers the cost of implementing one 5-session Prevention program to a High School classroom
$5,000 covers the cost of resolving one legal matter for a survivor of sexual harm
$7,500 pays for comprehensive legal services for one survivor for one year
$10,000 resolves 2 legal matters for survivors

MAKE A DONATION
Generous Sponsors
Sponsoring Celebrating Allies is a wonderful way to support survivors and demonstrate a commitment to ending sexual harm. We welcome you to look over the sponsorship opportunities and contact our Development Manager, Jordan O’Hara Smith, for more details at (773) 244-2230 ext. 217 or email johara@caase.org.
Presenting Sponsor

Gold Sponsor
The Silver Foundation

Silver Sponsors
Friedman Family Fund

Bronze Sponsors

Beverage Sponsor

Stay connected to CAASE and hear about all the amazing work we’re doing with your support by subscribing to CAASE’s newsletter and following us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
