JCAST April Blog:
Join the JCAST Chicago Movement!
As we celebrate Passover, we are grateful for all of the everyday people, like YOU, taking a stand against sex trafficking. The Jewish Community Against Sex Trafficking (JCAST) Chicago welcomes everyone to the table working together to combat this form of modern day slavery. Throughout the year, we are partnering with many other organizations to plan a number of upcoming events throughout the Chicagoland area. We hope you will join us.
Saturday, 5/4 10AM -12PM JCAST is partnering with Links, a national African American women’s service organization, to plan an
author event with Pamela Samuels Young. Ms. Young was a corporate lawyer before becoming a full-time author. One of her suspense book’s plot is on sex trafficking. We are thrilled to elevate our work to an expanded audience with this partnership.
Location: Evanston High School
Friday, 5/10 6:30-8:30PM Beyond R. Kelly: Surviving the Predators in our Community, Interfaith, inter community dialogue in partnership with Dreamcatcher Foundation, a survivor led service organization, and Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) to dialogue about what makes our society susceptible to individuals like R. Kelly and Harvey Weinstein.
Location: Trinity Church, 400 W. 95th St., Chicago
Many more events are planned including a conversation with Hadassah! And this fall we are planning to replicate our innovative
parenting programs in the western suburbs in partnership with
Etz Chaim and Beth Shalom. We are excited to replicate our successful discussion exploring the connection between
immigration, domestic violence, and sex trafficking in partnership with DePaul University College of Law on September 20th. JCAST is also chairing the committee planning the legal track of the Safer Lake County’s human trafficking conference.
In celebration of Passover consider getting involved! Email
Gayle and get the details. Looking forward to a stronger JCAST Chicago thanks to your efforts!
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Steering Committee
JCAST Chicago is led by a Steering Committee of dedicated volunteers. To learn more and get involved. Email
Gayle
Steering Committee Co-Chairs:
Donna Fishman
Susan Rifas
Steering Committee:
Ronna Ash, Hadassah
Susan Block, Hadassah
Cathy Carmody
Sara Kalish
Tracy Medansky
Sherry Petlin
Anita Pildes
Bonnie Ribet
Heather Ross
Stacy Saef
Joan Zahnle
Diane Zidman
Staff:
Gayle Nelson,
Engagement and Development Director
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Ensure there is a Chicago Jewish voice against sex trafficking. Support our unique events and innovative partnerships. Make your gift on our secure website today!
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Change the Sex Trafficking Narrative!
In May, the Jewish Community Against Sex Trafficking (JCAST) Chicago is celebrating our strong mothers and daughters by planning exciting events with diverse partners to educate, collaborate, and end sex trafficking in the Chicagoland area. Save the date and be sure to join us!
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Author Discussion: Pamela Samuels Young
Saturday, May 4, 2019, 10AM-12PM, Evanston High School
JCAST Chicago is excited to partner with Links, an African American service organization, to welcome attorney, author, and anti-trafficking advocate, Pamela Samuels Young.
Before becoming a full time author, M
s. Young was Toy
ota's Managing Counsel. She has written eight mystery novels we challenge you to put down.
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Beyond R. Kelly: Surviving the Predators in Our Community
Friday, May 10, 6:30-8:30 PM, Trinity Church,
400 W. 95th St., Chicago
JCAST Chicago in partnership with Dreamcatcher Foundation, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE), and Long Walk Home will explore how predators such as R. Kelly, Harvey Weinstein and others continue to exploit and how we can move beyond. The evening will feature a panel of survivors as well as lawyers and activists.
This event is an opportunity to dialogue and work across communities to combat sex trafficking. Consider bringing $10-15 gift card(s) to food or clothing stores for Dreamcatcher Foundation clients.
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Other Items and Events of Interest
On April 6, 2018, the United States Department of Justice seized the dominant online commercial sex marketplace Backpage. Five days later, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) / Allow States and Victims To Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) was signed into law. These twin events dramatically changed the online distribution layer serving the underground commercial sex economy (UCSE) in the United States, which in turn fuels sex trafficking across the country.
This report from
childsafe.ai
briefly summarizes the immediate online disruption following April 2018, covers the resulting economic dynamics in three categories of online communities serving the UCSE and analyzes their import for sex trafficking in the United States.
Key findings include:
- Quantifying the decline in demand for sex online
- Identifying signals that suggest a decline in supply for sex online
- Observing scale and reach of online ecosystems where sex is bought and sold online including advertising websites, hobby boards and sugar daddy websites
- Measuring the increase of spam and scam advertising in these ecosystems
- Observing changes in price dynamics nationwide
- Inferring import for sex trafficking
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JCAST Chicago on the Move
JCAST Chicago has been busy giving presentations across the Chicago Metropolitan area, for Jewish and secular groups. Please help JCAST Chicago secure speaking "gigs" at Jewish organizations. Contact Donna at
info@jcastchicago.org
with names and contacts at synagogues, chavurot, and other Jewish organizations.
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Take Action!
Here are some things you can do today to take action against Sex Trafficking:
Visit our website
to keep up-todate with the issues most relevant to you.
Sign up
for JCAST Chicago, NCJW or Sex Trafficking Action Alerts today!
* Send a Letter
Send a letter calling on local leaders and law enforcement to enforce laws and end demand.
Visit our website
to print out instructions and samples.
* Hang a Flyer
Victims may visit bus stations, grocery stores, currency exchanges, and gas stations. Hang a poster featuring the hotline for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. and help them escape to safety!
Visit our website
for more information and to print flyers.
* Write a Letter to the Editor
Write a letter to the editor when you learn publicly about arrests of perpetrators of sex trafficking. Commending the media, the police departments involved, and local authorities keeps sex trafficking in the news and encourages more enforcement.
Visit our website
for a sample letter to the editor.
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Resources
Books:
- Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery, Siddharth Kara
- Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World where Girls are not for Sale, Rachel Lloyd
- The Johns: Sex for Sale and the Men Who Buy it, Victor Malarek
- The Natashas: Inside the Global Sex Trade, Victor Malarek
- Women Hold up Half the Sky: Turing Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Sheryl Wudunn and Nicholas Kristof
Podcasts:
IN PLAIN SIGHT Podcast to End Human Trafficking Each week, the IN PLAIN SIGHT Podcast features a an inspiring speaker who may educate you in your work to end human trafficking around the globe.
Click here
for a link to the website.
Websites:
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Sex Trafficking in the News:
More and more our news feeds are filled with stories about sex trafficking - some positive and some negative. Here are a few links that may be of interest.
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Jewish Community Against Sex Trafficking (JCAST) Chicago
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