I Am Jane Doe is a film that tells the true story of a legal battle between several mothers of sex trafficking victims and Backpage.com. Two of the plaintiffs, who are identified using pseudonyms, and their families tell their story of the harrowing experiences they went through when they were trafficked, at ages fifteen and thirteen. Since reuniting with their families, they have taken on legal battles against Backpage, the website on which they were sold for sex. What started as two individual cases multiplied to include several court cases across the county as well as a United States Senate investigation. Backpage repeatedly argued that they were not liable for the ads sold on their website due to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. This act was created to protect new media from lawsuits due to the content on their websites. Backpage used this act and the protection of the first amendment to win or dismiss several cases filed against them. However, the battle is far from over, as the families of the Jane Does are willing to do whatever it takes to get justice for their daughters.

The screening of I Am Jane Doe that took place at Columbia College in Chicago was introduced by John McKay, the former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defense in Canada, and Lisa Madigan, the attorney general for the state of Illinois. At the conclusion of the showing, there was a panel of six speakers: Yvonne, a mother who tragically lost her 16-year-old daughter at the hands of a Backpage buyer; Gina DeBoni, an attorney representing the Jane Doe family; Yiota Souras, the Senior Vice President of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; Marian Hatcher, the senior project manager and human trafficking coordinator for the Cook County Sheriff’s office; Martin Castro, the former chairman of the US Commission on Civil Rights; and Mary Mazzio, the writer, director, and producer of the film. They answered questions from the moderator, Lynn Sweet (the DC Bureau Chief of the Chicago Sun-Times) and the audience, adding their own experiences and knowledge to supplement the film. When asked what the audience could do to help, Hatcher responded that they should continue to educate themselves and those around them, and to call their representatives to voice their thoughts.

I was fortunate enough to see this film as a part of my internship with JCAST for this summer while I am home from college. While many in the audience were led to imagine themselves in the horrible scenario that the Jane Does’ parents found themselves in (What if this happened to my daughter?), I had a different horrible scenario in my mind (What if this happened to my friend? What if it happened to me?). The film demonstrated how easy it can be to fall through the cracks; before they became victims of sex trafficking, these victims were just normal kids. According to one study in the Midwest, 40% of children who run away from home are trafficked. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports that one in every three homeless teenagers will be sex trafficked within 48 hours of leaving home. I Am Jane Doe tells the story of girls who were sex trafficked, and the legal battle of their families to make sure the people at fault are made to pay for their pain. But it also serves as an awakening for audience members of all ages and genders: what is happening all around us is wrong, and innocent people are suffering. I think everyone who saw the film would agree that they cannot go back to when they did not know about Backpage and the stories of the girls who have taken the name “Jane Doe.” We know, and now we have the responsibility to act.

I Am Jane Doe is currently available on iTunes, Vimeo, Google Play, Amazon, Netflix, and DVD. 50% of all the profits will be donated to organizations supporting Jane Doe children. To learn more, visit iamjanedoefilm.com.

– Eliana Fleischer, JCAST Chicago Intern

Selah Freedom is a national organization that offers prevention, outreach and safe housing to survivors of sex trafficking. Selah is a Hebrew word which means to pause, rest and reflect. Here in the Chicago area, Selah Freedom provides a safe residence for survivors to discover who they are, set goals and re-launch their lives.

We met at a Selah training meeting that all the volunteers are required to attend. We really connected in our passions to help these women and to make a direct impact on their lives.  Our first volunteer opportunity was in April, where we planned a meal and worked with the residents to prepare it. They were so excited and grateful. They embraced us and we embraced them. We so enjoyed sitting around the table and sharing the meal that we had all prepared together. It felt like we had an immediate connection with them. Next time we will bring more new and unusual cooking experiences with us.

We are looking forward to further developing our relationship with these women and discovering other ways to help them realize their life goals. We are grateful to NCJW and JCAST for introducing us to this very worthwhile organization where we can interact with the people we are supporting.

Cheryl Susman

Joan Zahnle

We welcome Cheryl and Joan to the JCAST Chicago Steering Committee

The Nordic Model, pioneered in Sweden, is a legislative approach to prostitution, which makes it illegal to purchase sexual services.  Under this model, the individuals who are trafficked for commercial sex are not criminalized, and are instead offered support and social services.  The aim of this model is to change society’s views of prostitution and to eventually eradicate it completely.  Sweden has seen progress toward achieving this goal – the proportion of Swedish men purchasing sex has decreased since implementing the Nordic Model.  In fact, research by the Swedish government indicates that street prostitution has been halved since the legislation was introduced in 1999.

Following in Sweden’s footsteps, other countries have begun to implement similar legislation such as Ireland, France, Norway, Iceland, and Canada.  Recently, Israel has begun to take a step forward by introducing legislation inspired by the Nordic Model.  The Task Force on Human Trafficking & Prostitution (TFHT) submitted proposed legislation called the “Criminal Prohibition of Consumption of Prostitution Services and Community Treatment Bill.”  The bill consists of two parts in accordance with the Nordic Model: 1) the prohibition of purchasing sexual services and 2) protection and support for survivors.  TFHT has an ongoing public petition that you can sign here to support the proposed legislation and ensure that your voice is heard in advancing this legislation in Israel.

Haley Braun, JCAST Chicago Intern

Eva, our family’s Au Pair from Czech Republic, commented to me on March 8 about the lack of care and attention paid to women in the United States on International Women’s Day.  Eva’s experience in Europe was a day for women to be cherished for their contributions to life, motherhood, and society.  It’s a day when men hand out small yellow flowers on the street to women, just because.

Part of our experience hosting an Au Pair is this cultural exchange; learning about traditions, language, and food from Czech has been fascinating.  This cultural difference had me interested.  So, I set about doing some research.

International Women’s Day began in 1909 as a response to women’s horrific working conditions.  It has become a recognized holiday in more than 25 countries since its inception and stands to not only appreciate women, but advocate for equality.  “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights,” says Gloria Steinem.  International Women’s Day celebrates unity and advocates for action.

The 2017 theme of #BeBoldForChange made me think that this is a celebration beyond yellow flowers, it’s an opportunity to unite and make our voices heard for those who don’t have their own voice.

Through the lens of JCAST Chicago, being bold for change means standing up for the people who are lured into sex trafficking as young teens or standing up to our neighbors who are purchasing sex from those teens.  To me, being bold for change is ending the demand for paid sex, one group at a time.

What does being bold for change mean for you?  As you reflect on the women’s issues that make you want to be bold, I hope that you find your voice and an outlet for making change.

~ Jacqueline Babb, JCAST Chicago

At the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Educational Center, 60,000 students enter to learn every year.  Some days we have 500 people within our walls wondering what happened so many years ago when a despot was given complete control.  Dehumanizing people as commodities, a genocide enslaving a population.  To this, we say,” never again!”

In the Holocaust, we see the absence of human rights, a population enslaved without choices. Why would someone choose to be hurtful? Hitler used force, fraud, coercion, and terror. Survivors were victimized with no resolution. Empowering is our job.  It is to make a difference, to help with the understanding of our own communities and to provide the venue to widen our world hoping to be the person that will make our world safe for democracy for future generations.

We emphasize respect, empathy, courage and through the Holocaust, treasure what we can learn from rescuers and survivors the qualities they exhibit, and how to transform them into our lives.  What actions did they take?  Where and with whom? Culture defines us. We emphasize convictions in one’s own beliefs, working together to problem solve.  Change is attainable. Activism is a venue, with the understanding of crimes against humanity, and taking a stand as an upstander.

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Educational Center, “furthers preserves the legacy of the Holocaust by honoring those lost and teaching universal lessons that combat hatred, prejudice and indifference and human rights and the elimination of genocide.”

JCAST’s mission to come together with partners of those “concerned by human rights and the empowerment of women, and ending the community and take action to end the demand for purchased sex and protect children” reflects the mission of the Illinois Holocaust Museum with the power of education to make a difference. The Museum is working hard to change the thinking of people, broaden their understanding of the existence of history, and come together to fight and resist the inhumane treatment of those with victimless crimes.

Sex trafficking presents a similar picture. Abuse, control of one’s lives by others, exploitation, brainwashing, are all aspects of those that are trafficked. We look as women as survivors.  We are looking for a world without exploitation.

As a call for action, we need to talk, know the warning signs, be that person that is an upstander who involves themselves in the avenue of human rights for all of us.

~ Susan Block, JCAST Chicago Steering Committee Member

I am one of 500 attendees at a national nonprofit management conference for students and educators.  Days into stale coffee, too-cold rooms, and information beyond my saturation point, my world of being a professor and my world of being a sex-trafficking advocate collided.

The keynote speaker declared that slavery exists around us.  Participants looked around bewildered, humbled.  Certainly, our country has moved beyond forcing people into labor.  Certainly not.

As students learned more about sex trafficking in the keynote address, eyes widened and students shifted uncomfortably in their seats.  I relived my own experience learning about this modern form of slavery.

The students that I talked to after the keynote imagined their friends, sisters, and girlfriends in these horrific situations.  They reframed their view of prostitution as a victimless crime.  They felt in their hearts and searched for solutions in their minds.

Students pursuing careers in the nonprofit sector are full of drive, energy, and will to make our world better one day at a time.  They asked the obvious question: “what can we do?”  Perhaps you are asking yourself the very same question.  What can I do to eradicate this modern form of slavery?

You can start the conversation.

Connect JCAST Chicago to your synagogue or church.  Invite your friends to coffee and have them read and discuss an article about sex trafficking.  Have your book club read, Lived Through This: Listening to the Stories of Sexual Violence Survivors by Anne K. Ream.  Write a blog post.  Harness the power of social media.  Go see Money Make’m Smile at Her Story Theater in Chicago this spring.

When paid sex becomes socially unacceptable, demand ends.  When demand ends, traffickers don’t earn billions of dollars from selling people as reusable commodities.  When traffickers don’t earn money, they stop victimizing.  And, only then, does this horrific cycle end.

~ Jacqueline Babb, Engagement and Development Director

After over a decade of working for the National Council of Jewish Women, my children have suffered through many a conversation on topics ranging from civil rights to why courts matter to reproductive justice.  Add my work with the Jewish Coalition Against Sex Trafficking (JCAST) Chicago to the mix and they hear about trafficking, exploitation, violence.  Let’s just say that car rides with mom are really fun!

Recently, when so many cases of college rape are making the news, and when presidential candidates and political leaders joke and excuse assault as “locker room talk,” I realized that it isn’t enough to talk to my teen daughter about how to protect herself.  I needed to talk to my (almost) teen son about respect, exploitation and pornography.

I have learned from past experience that conversations with teenagers about sex, drugs, alcohol and similar topics seem to work best when you don’t face each other – car rides are good; so is sitting on the couch facing straight ahead.  How to approach the subject is tricky.  Do you wait until they ask; do you just bring it up?  I had joked with my kids about porn in a sense – if we were watching a film or TV show together and the action took a turn towards the sexual, I would yell “PORN” and they would cover their eyes.  But a flash of skin or prolonged kissing during prime time isn’t pornography – although I will say there are also shows that certainly push the boundaries!  I decided that I needed to talk to my kids seriously about pornography and the only way to do that was to rip off the bandage in a sense and just go for it!

So one evening, while my boy and I were watching television, I just brought it up.  It was mostly a one-sided conversation, but at least he listened.  I talked with my son about how pornography is easily accessible as well as how it is totally natural to be curious about sex and nudity and wanting to seek out those things is normal, but also that pornography is exploitive and has no basis in reality.  That many of the “actors and actresses” in these films or the “models” in these pictures may not be there voluntarily.  There is undoubtedly a percentage who are victims of trafficking.  That the images of women he might see are not representative of actual women and that the relationships depicted are not real relationships.

I read an article once (although I can no longer find the link) but the gist of the article was “Ok, we had sex; will you kiss me now?”  While I didn’t save the article, the message stuck with me.  Whether it’s due to pornography, lack of education, the influence of their friends or messages in the media, the issue with teen dating is no longer sex before marriage but sex before dating. Studies have found that frequent usage of pornography negatively impacts intimate relationships and affects the users’ view of women.

Pornography is readily available on the internet, but so are some great resources: Culture Framed is the first health promotion effort to recognize and address pornography as the public health crisis of the digital age. They have an amazing website (www.culturereframed.org) filled with articles and ideas for educating your children about the harm of pornography as well as how to empower them to have happy and healthy relationships.  CAASE, the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, has great information and fact sheets on their website caase.org including a tool kit for high school educators  which can be helpful to read as a parent to further a discussion with your child about sexual and sexually violent images in the media. CAASE addresses the culture, institutions, and individuals that perpetrate, profit from, or support sexual exploitation. Their work includes prevention, policy reform, community engagement, and legal services.  Check out these two organizations and email me at [email protected] with any additional resources you might find!

So as painful as the conversation was with my son, I was glad I did it.  It opened up a window of conversation that I hope will remain open as he develops into the amazing young man I know he will become.

~Melissa Prober, Communications Director, National Council of Jewish Women Chicago North Shore; Staff, JCAST Chicago

I recently had the opportunity to attend the opening of a new exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.  The exhibit, entitled “Women Hold Up Half the Sky” reflects upon the struggles worldwide to achieve equality for women.  Inspired by Nicholas Kristof’s and Sheryl WuDunn’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, the exhibit seeks to share solutions and be a catalyst for change both here at home in Chicago, and around the world.

“Women Hold Up Half the Sky” juxtaposes global women’s rights issues with those faced locally in Chicago.  I think we, as Americans, as Chicagoans, have a tendency to believe that the horrors of sex trafficking, gender based violence, and oppression of women are the problems of other nations. I believe we tend to distance ourselves from these horrors because they seem far too appalling to be happening in our own neighborhoods.  But the unfortunate truth is that violence against women and sex trafficking are pervasive in Chicago and throughout the United States.

Attorney General, Lisa Madigan was among the speakers at the opening of “Women Hold Up Half the Sky.”  Madigan, who has been a dedicated advocate for women’s rights in Illinois, called upon the crowd to get involved and join in the fight for equality.

Fritzie Fritzshall, President of the museum, also spoke at the opening of the exhibit.  She shared her own harrowing story as a survivor of the Holocaust.  She spoke of “The darkest days of human history.” She implored the audience to “Remember.”  Her eloquently simple request is a reminder to us all to learn from the past and to continue the fight against egregious human rights abuses today, like those faced by women around the world.

JCAST Chicago Steering Committee member Beth Gordon, said, “The new Women Hold Up Half the Sky exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum is a compelling reminder of the many forms of oppression of girls and women around the world, yet the also introduces visitors to several extraordinary people who have taken a stand and are making a difference, including here in Chicago. The exhibit is inspired by the stories of girls and women, as featured in Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl Wu Dunn’s book, “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Wordwide.” Both book and exhibit remind us that “global statistics on the abuse of girls are numbing. It appears that more girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all battles of the 20th century.” It is also a call to action that we simply cannot ignore. As stated by Kristoff and Wu Dunn in their book ” …the challenge today is to prod the world to face up to women locked in brothels and teenage girls with fistulas curled up on the floor of isolated huts. We hope to see a broad movement emerge to battle gender inequality around the world and to push for education and opportunities for girls around the world. “ I urge you to visit the exhibit, and join the movement, for we can no longer look the other way.”

JCAST Chicago Steering Committee Co-Chair Susan Rifas said that the exhibit is a “powerful and important exhibition that everyone … men and women … should see. It brings home in a very visual way what women around the world are subjected to, including sex trafficking.”

“Women Hold Up Half the Sky” runs from September 25, 2016 – January 22, 2017 at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, IL.  Don’t miss this important exhibit!

~Haley Braun, Intern, JCAST Chicago, Clinical Psychology Doctoral student at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.  Graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The statistics around sex trafficking in our local community are staggering.

• It is estimated that 16,000-25,000 young women and men, boys and girls in Chicago are victims each year
• 55% of Chicago runaways and homeless people report engaging in sex for survival
• The lifespan of someone who is prostituted is only seven years

Force, fraud, and coercion – the definers of sex trafficking — cannot continue.  We have the ability to change lives.  These people are our daughters, sisters, brothers, neighbors, classmates, and friends.  They deserve a different life trajectory.  We shall not be indifferent.  Together, we have the power to alter the way that our culture looks at people as reusable commodities, as lives to be sold into a modern form of slavery.

JCAST Chicago harnesses the power of community and awareness to end the demand for paid sex.  And, when demand diminishes, supply diminishes.  Women and children will no longer be forced or coerced into sex slavery.  JCAST Chicago partners with interfaith and human rights groups, nonprofit organizations, government officials, and law enforcement agencies to end the demand for purchased sex and protect children.

Our work is underway; we need your help more than ever. And we will do the affirmative work with you and on your behalf.  Your gift of $36, $50, or $100 will help us eradicate sex trafficking through awareness and advocacy.  Please make a gift online or via mail to:  JCAST Chicago, 5 Revere Drive, Suite 200 Northbrook, IL 60062.

Thank you from the women, men and children who need us.

In recent weeks, we’ve been confronted with shocking, insulting and derogatory footage and language against women (by a presidential candidate!), and we’ve seen an outpouring of responses every which way we turn. People of all genders are deeply disturbed and offended. In a recent New York Times editorial, Frank Bruni writes “No human being — woman or man — should be regarded as a conquest or an amusement with a will subservient to someone else’s” www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/opinion/daughters-and-trumps.html.

And Nicholas Kristoff’s recent weekly column opens with:

Is there a double standard for women in politics?

Imagine if it were Hillary Clinton who had had five children by three husbands, who had said it was fine to refer to her daughter as a “piece of ass,” who participated in a radio conversation about oral sex in a hot tub, who rated men based on their body parts, who showed up in Playboy soft porn videos.

Imagine if 15 men had accused Clinton of assaulting or violating them, with more stepping forward each day.

Imagine if Clinton had held a Mr. Teen USA pageant and then marched unannounced into the changing area to ogle the young bodies as some were naked and, after doing the same thing at a Mr. USA pageant, marveled on a radio show at what she was allowed to get away with.

Perhaps it’s is no coincidence that these events unfolded during the Jewish High Holy Days. “The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur.” (http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday3.htm), Our prayer books are filled with both ancient and modern prayers, words and passages that remind us of our responsibility to perform acts of social justice. And this year, at my synagogue, Congregation Hakafa, something unexpected took place. Actions transcended beyond the words on the pages in response to the unsettling misogyny unfolding in the media. On the eve of Kol Nidre, Rabbi Bruce Elder decided to place this holy service under the leadership of women, and asked Rabbi Ali Abrams to lead the service and give a personal reflection in his place (See Rabbi Abram’s reflection on moving from “disengagement to paying attention, from reacting to listening” on the JCAST blog spot.) The honor of holding the torahs was given to all past female presidents of the congregation. And at the end of the service was another act of solidarity by members of the congregation, who generously responded to the collection of tzedakah donations for the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (http://caase.org/). On this eve of Kol Nidre, acts of intention against misogyny and in support of gender equality spoke louder than the words on our pages.

While acts can, at times, speak louder than words, we simply cannot deny or ignore the power of words, specifically the negative words or “ locker room talk” of any man who brags about groping or kissing women against their will, and later claims it was it just “talk” while allegations continues to surface. What does “locker room talk” have to do with sexual exploitation, the purchase of sex, and sex trafficking? Plenty! Such repugnant, disgusting, degrading talk reminds how often women are objectified in our society. Are the men who frequent Backpage.com and purchase sex from trafficked minors and adults the same ones who engage in “harmless” locker room talk? And what about their children? Are sons being reared to respect all genders as equals or to view women as objects to be critiqued, touched, groped and raped for a fee or for free? And are daughters being taught to view themselves as equals and respect one another as well as themselves? Can we find a silver-lining in this disturbing and unsettling language against women that promotes their sexual exploitation, including sex trafficking and the purchase of sex?

Personally, I’ve been subject to these kinds of derogatory for decades, since my early teens. It was as unsettling then as it is now. I’m ready to start talking about it in constructive ways. And I know I’m not alone. Are we ready to have these much-needed conversations in our homes, schools, places of faith and in our communities? How we think about gender equality and how we talk to each other does influence our actions. If we want to change cultural views on sexual exploitation, then we need to denounce words that objectify women and people of all genders whether we hear them inside or out of the confines of a locker room. When we don’t speak out and create positive models for our youth through our words and actions to promote respect and equality, then we are complicit. We are bystanders. On the other hand, when we stand up against words and actions that objectify any gender as dehumanizing and unacceptable, then we are one step closer to changing the way our culture views the sexual exploitation of all genders, and that includes the sex trafficking.

In closing, I highlight the unique preventative curriculum offered by Caleb Probst and the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE): Empowering Young Men to End Sexual Exploitation, A Curriculum for High School Boys “The best way to address sexual exploitation is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Young men are exposed to a culture that stigmatizes women in prostitution, yet glamorizes pimping and patronizing the sex trade. CAASE has created and implemented the first curriculum in the country specifically designed to educate young men about the harms of prostitution and to enlist them as allies in the movement to end violence against women and girls. We have reached more than 2,300 students since the curriculum launched in 2010.” I encourage you to take a look: http://caase.org/prevention. May this New Year be filled with words and actions that promote respect and reject objectification of all genders, and move us one step closer to the change in culture we so desperately need in order to eradicate exploitation and promote gender equality.

Beth Gordon, JCAST Chicago, Steering Committee