Sunlight Project
The Sunlight Project of Fourth Presbyterian Church seeks to raise awareness of the commercial sexual exploitation of Chicago children and to end it through education, advocacy, and action.
For more information about the Sunlight Project, please contact Nancy Davis (312.274.3815).
About | Photos | Resources
About the Project
Every year, as many as 2.8 million children run away in the United States. Within 48 hours, about one-third are recruited into the underground world of prostitution and pornography, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Other children in foreign countries—often teenage girls—are transported into the United States or into other countries specifically for prostitution. Worldwide, the numbers are astonishing: the global market for child trafficking reaches more than $12 billion per year, with some 1.2 million child victims.
The Sunlight Project of Fourth Presbyterian Church has joined efforts to end these crimes. The Sunlight Project supports agencies that work with at-risk youths and raises awareness about child sex trafficking in Chicago, as well as new legislation and other efforts to combat this crime.
As people of faith, members of the Sunlight Project want to do as much as possible to bring healing to victims of child sex trafficking, help police and social services rescue those who are still trapped in this world of exploitation, and support law enforcement efforts that prosecute criminals and prevent these crimes from happening in the future.
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Sunlight Project Photos
A Vigil Remembering Victims and Survivors of Sex Trafficking | August 22, 2012
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Child Sex Trafficking Study Resources
Any sources without web links are available to borrow from the Women@Fourth Connect library by contacting Anne Ellis (312.981.3369).
Books
Ending Slavery: How We Free Today’s Slaves
--Kevin Bales
The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today
--Kevin Bales & Ron Soodalter
Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade
--David Batstone
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
--Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn
Listening to Olivia: Violence, Poverty, and Prostitution
--Jody Raphael
Caught in the Web: Inside the Police Hunt to Rescue Children
from Online Predators
--Julian Sher
Somebody’s Daughter: The Hidden Story of America’s Prostituted Children
and the Battle to Save Them
--Julian Sher
Renting Lacy: A Story of America’s Prostituted Children (A Call to Action)
--Linda Smith
Not for Sale: Feminists Resisting Prostitution and Pornography
--(eds.) Christine Stark & Rebecca Whisnant
Articles and Research
The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth in Illinois
--Jessica Ashley, IL Criminal Justice Information Authority
The John Next Door
--Leslie Bennetts, Newsweek, July 25, 2011
The Realities of Human Trafficking in Cook County: Strategies for Ending the Exploitation of Women and Girls
--Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues
Advancing a Human Rights Based Approach to Addressing Human Trafficking
--Rev. Noelle Damico, March 18, 2009,
Keynote for the Freedom Network USA Human Trafficking Conference
Deconstructing the Demand for Prostitution: Preliminary Insights from Interviews
with Chicago Men Who Purchase Sex
--Rachel Durchslag & Samir Goswami,
Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, May 2008
Joining the Battle Against Sexual Exploitation of Children (ECPAT-USA)
(Horizons Magazine, March/April 2010)
--Sara Friedman
Buying Sex: A Survey of Men in Chicago
--Samir Goswami, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
Gearing Up
--Angelica Herrera
Sex-Trafficking Bust
--Rummana Hussain & Mitch Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times, Aug. 25, 2011
First Conviction of Human Trafficking Initiative
--Gailann Jarocki, February 10, 2011
Collateral Damage: The Impact of Anti-Trafficking Measures on Human Rights
around the World
--Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women
Shackles in Our Midst: How to Recognize Trafficking
(Horizons Magazine, March/April 2010)
--Kacie MacDonald
Allegations Link U.S. Companies to Brazilian Sex Tourism
--Barry Meier
Why They Run: An In-Depth Look at America’s Runaway Youth
--National Runaway Switchboard, May 2010
UN Human Rights Council Report Submitted by the Special Rapporteur on
trafficking in persons, especially women and children
--Joy Ngozi Ezeilo
Domestic Sex Trafficking of Chicago Women and Girls
--Jody Raphael, DePaul University of Law, and Jessica Ashley, Illinois Criminal
Justice Information Authority, May 2008
Interviews with Five Ex-Pimps in Chicago
--Jody Raphael, DePaul University of Law, and Brenda Myers-Powell, Dreamcatcher Foundation
Sisters Speak Out: The Lives and Needs of Prostituted Women in Chicago
--Jody Raphael & Deborah Shapiro, Center for Impact Research
Sex Trafficking of Women in the United States
--Janice Raymond & Donna Hughes, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women
The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking:
America’s Prostituted Children
--Shared Hope International, May 2009
The Intersystem Assessment on Prostitution in Chicago
--Emily Sweet, Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence
Pathways into and out of Commercial Sexual Victimization of Children: Understanding and Responding to Sexually Exploited Teens
--Linda Williams & Mary Frederick, Dept. of Criminal Justice and Criminology,
University of MA
Additional Resources
The Abolitionist Church Handbook
--Not For Sale, 2007
Demand Change: 10 Actions X 10 Issues = 100 Steps Towards Ending
Sexual Exploitation
--Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation
Engaging Protestant Communities in Ending Sexual Exploitation:
A Toolkit and Resource Guide
--Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, 2010
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