Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) has released a new report, Too Little, Too Late?, analyzing publicly available crime data from 2010 – 2019 and the Chicago Police Department’s response. They found that survivors who reported to the Chicago Police Department (CPD) faced grossly inadequate responses.
- The Chicago Police Department is failing survivors of sexual assault and abuse
- CAASE’s research found that 80-90% of sex crimes reported to CPD did not result in an arrest.
- A mere 10-20% of survivors who reported to CPD saw an arrest in their case—and they had to wait weeks or months for their assailant to be detained.
- Sexual harm is a crisis in our community, yet we do not see a crisis-level response from our city’s law enforcement, elected leaders, or state legislators.
- Survivors’ experiences, our staff’s observations, and CAASE’s findings make it clear that CPD must improve. We also must accept that the criminal justice system cannot be the only option we offer survivors.
- We know most of them will never go to the police.
- We need a vigorous response to sexual assault that goes beyond policing.
- We have to address it at all intersections within our community
- We need to invest in community services, prevention initiatives, alternatives to the criminal justice system, and more
- Mayor Lightfoot and all 50 aldermen must account for our city’s sexual violence crisis. They need to hold law enforcement to high standards and fund comprehensive, community-based responses to gender violence while State legislators act to expand survivors’ options for justice.
Get involved and get educated with a petition and supplemental report here.
