Caleb Probst is the education outreach associate for the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University, where he studied education and theatre. He began working with CAASE in 2007, helping to research the behavior of men who buy sex in the Chicago area. Caleb began facilitating CAASE’s curriculum Empowering Young Men to End Sexual Exploitation in March, 2010. CAASE created the curriculum as a result of the 2007 research project, and it is the nation’s first prevention curriculum to engage young men in dialogue about the sex trade and demand, empowering them to stand as allies against sexual exploitation and violence. To date, more than 1,400 young men in Chicago have completed the program, and that number is continuing to grow each week. In addition to his work in the classroom, Caleb has co-authored anti-trafficking curricula for the Frederick Douglass Family Initiative and has presented at numerous conferences around the United States. He has also been educating the community at-large through theatre since 2008, when he began writing, directing, and producing plays that address the causes and consequences of commercial sexual exploitation, and facilitating post-show discussions.
PREVENTION – CAASE creates and implements educational curricula that encourage high-school-age men to work against sexual exploitation.
POLICY AND ADVOCACY – CAASE advocates for legislative and policy reforms that will increase the legal and social accountability for perpetrators of harm, especially sex traffickers, pimps, people who buy sex, and those who commit sexual assault. They also promote broad community support for services and resources for survivors. CAASE advises law enforcement, policy makers, and other stakeholders on best practices relating to sex trafficking, prostitution, and rape.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT – CAASE works to prevent sexual exploitation by increasing public understanding of the harms inherent in the sex trade. Their approach to engagement includes research and the arts. Additionally, CAASE develops toolkits for nonprofits, faith-based groups, schools, businesses, feminist groups, and other communities and individuals who would like to take action against sexual harm.
LEGAL SERVICES – CAASE engages in civil litigation against perpetrators and facilitators of sexual harm and advocates for appropriate and effective criminal prosecution of perpetrators. They also advocate for public policies that increase the efficacy of criminal and civil laws pertaining to sexual violence and exploitation.